Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 996 "Crescent Moon's Fifth Watch Rhapsody"

The next band, Exodus, was also metal. Although they didn't make it to the end, Exodus was undoubtedly one of the most talked-about bands from "The Big Band".

The striking appearance of the green algae is one aspect, but the stark contrast between its delicate and fragile appearance and the black metallic finish is also a key factor.

While in Europe, accustomed to the local music scene, European fans wouldn't be as surprised as their Chinese counterparts. But in China, it's a completely different story. Today, some fans came specifically for them, and surprisingly, the proportion of female Exodus fans far exceeds that of male fans.

Bian Lang, watching from the quarantine area, heard several female voices calling Green Algae "husband".

After the song "My Exodus" was performed, whether you liked black metal or not, or had ever seen their live performance, it felt like a treasure trove had been opened.

Many people neither liked nor disliked the song, but they all felt that the live performance was undeniably captivating. Many bloggers, simply there to ride the wave of popularity, had already recognized the potential for a viral hit.

A blogger who specializes in selling source materials was thinking about what price to set for his videos when he received a message: "I have videos and photos of female musicians. Try to make them as suggestive as possible. High price!"

Upon seeing this news, he couldn't help but frown: "This is a music festival, not a concert by girl groups and female celebrities. When those girl groups and female celebrities compete, there's really nothing to say."

But when he thought about the rumors surrounding those female bodhisattvas whom he outwardly despised but inwardly longed for, his thoughts began to change.

After all, according to some of the entertainment industry's standards, Green Algae's outfit is just tacky! Apart from the two tattooed arms that she can make a statement about, it really has nothing to do with being considered "frivolous".

Moreover, he felt that given the nature of male fans in China, the market for green algae was in Europe, not in China at all.

So he turned the camera on the female fans!

As for the video of the green algae performance, he sold it to a blogger who had only been added to the group two days prior, at a price slightly lower than the market price after the performance.

The considerable number of European music fans in the audience were indeed feeling incredibly excited.

Many Russian music fans who traveled from Deer Island originally came to support the Rolling Stones. Although they couldn't attend the Rolling Stones' two performances in Red Square in person, their support for the Rolling Stones transcended the entire Eurasian continent.

Especially those songs that have special meaning to them!

But it was still light out, and he was repeatedly blown away by the other Rolling Stones bands. By the time they got to Exodus, these Russians seemed to have exhausted their enthusiasm even before the Rolling Stones took the stage.

Seeing the excited Russians, the little witch dragged Lao Zheng along to do an interview. Lao Zheng immediately joked, "We don't speak Russian!"

"These feelings all come from Kashima, their Mandarin is much better..."

Sure enough, the little witch greeted a foreigner who looked like a punk rocker in English and asked if she could interview him. The foreigner replied in heavily accented Mandarin, "Sure, why not!"

After flashing a victorious look at Old Zheng, the little witch began asking questions: "Did you just arrive today, or have you been here for three days?"

“I watched ‘The Big Band,’ and that show made me decide to get to know Chinese rock music all over again, so my friends and I came here on the first day…” After saying this, the man, who introduced himself as Kiryakov, a member of the fighting nation, pointed to their campsite for the little witch and continued:
"I really didn't expect that there could be a music festival like this in China. We had a lot of fun..." The little witch didn't care whether this guy was going off-topic or not. Anyway, it was all useful material, so she let him do as he pleased. In any case, this material would definitely be used when editing the video.

After Kiryakov finished speaking, the little witch praised his professionalism and then asked, "If you were to recommend a Chinese band to your European friends, besides the Rolling Stones, which band would you recommend?"

This question was not difficult for Kiryakov at all, and he answered almost without thinking: "It used to be Secondhand Rose, now it should also include Exodus."

According to the logic the little witch believes she follows, mentioning Exodus is perfectly reasonable. Don't think foreigners don't understand social etiquette; these people from a fighting nation living in China are probably more adept at handling things than many Chinese.

The little witch was a bit surprised when the name Second Hand Rose was mentioned: "Second Hand Rose? What's your opinion of this band?"

Kiryakov rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while, as if he was about to use all the Chinese he knew...

"I feel that Second Hand Rose is an unprecedented rock band! Other Chinese bands, even the Rolling Stones, are all learning from Western rock music. Only Second Hand Rose, I think they have created a unique branch of rock music..."

I have to say that Bian Lang is truly amazing. After listening to rock music for so many years, just when I felt that no new genre of rock music could possibly emerge, Bian Lang gave us such a huge surprise..."

This assessment is undeniably high, and upon closer examination, anyone with even a basic understanding of rock music would deeply agree with it.

After watching the interview, Bian Lang immediately commented with a triple tap: "Know-it-all!"

Just as this music fan said, at the turn of the century on Earth, Aunt Liang, a native of Heilongjiang, brought Errenzhuan rock to Beijing, leaving the audience and other bands in the live house completely bewildered.

Beyond folk rock, people have once again witnessed the fusion of rock music and local culture.

To use an imperfect analogy, if Bian Lang were to recommend a Chinese band to a foreigner back on Earth, he would most likely recommend Second Hand Rose, rather than Tang Dynasty, Black Panther, or Omnipotent Youth.

The latter can easily find mentors in the world of rock music, while Second Hand Rose cannot.

Northeast China is a major center for pop music. In the development of rock music, in addition to Second Hand Rose, there are also extremely excellent post-rock bands like Wang Wen, beautiful but not very Northeastern bands like Lost Train, and many heavy metal bands. Heavy metal music has also become a label of Northeast rock.

When Bian Lang and his friends talked about this over drinks back then, they would joke, "A band that comes from the industrial heavy industry should naturally play heavy music!"

Just like the reggae tradition in Yunnan Province, it's all part of the genes flowing in our blood!
With this question she had never considered before, the little witch, somewhat dazed, followed Kiryakov and his group of warriors into the secondhand performance.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as Lao Wu's suona horn started playing on stage, the "fellow sufferers" in the audience collectively went wild. Hainan Province, having a large influx of people from Northeast China, boasts a local music fanbase with a Northeastern population that rivals even Xishuangbanna on Earth. So, some people in the audience started dancing with bright red and green props...

Seeing this, Kiryakov excitedly pulled the little witch along and started talking into Lao Zheng's camera: "Did you guys see that? This is something you can only see at music festivals in China... It's absolutely magical!"

Being recommended a Chinese band by a foreigner on her own turf made the little witch feel a bit ignorant, but also incredibly proud...

In the past year, Liangzi has become very familiar with this style. Whether singing or performing on stage, the whole band has entered a state of perfect harmony.

Upon hearing this, the people from Northeast China in Hainan Province seemed to awaken all sorts of instincts. Fu Yiran, the movie star from Northeast China, had no idol baggage whatsoever. He immediately asked the fans behind him for a fan and started dancing in the quarantine area.

The camera crew set up a special position to film this award-winning actor, and the photographer even came up with a headline for the publicity team: "Shocking! Award-winning actor reveals his true feelings at the music festival, a folk dance brings back memories of Northeast China!"

Under Fu Yiran's influence, the "patients" in the front row basically entered a state of frenzy.

For a lead singer like Liang Zi, who has a somewhat performative personality, his stage presence is even more frenzied than the fans' excitement!
When they sang "Fairy", the first line was met with the whole audience chanting, "Brother, you play rock and roll, what's the point?"

Kiryakov and the other foreigners were actually shouting along, which even the little witch found surreal...

During that year, although Liangzi and his team arranged all the songs Bian Lang provided, the update speed was actually quite slow. After going on a tour with Jinma and his group, they hardly released any new songs.

At this Rolling Stones Festival, they were the second to last, which, in Liang Zi's own words, meant: "We're the ones who are truly giving the Rolling Stones a proper opening!"

After discussing it, the guys decided to play a new song that the fans hadn't heard before as their last song. They also made some special arrangements specifically for the entire venue that day.

During rehearsals, Bian Lang watched the performance and cheered them on from the audience: "Awesome! Awesome! You guys have really mastered this Errenzhuan rock style."

Bian Lang himself felt that even if Aunt Liang herself were here, she couldn't do much better than them!

So after singing "Fairy", Liangzi introduced himself to the fans: "Thank you, thank you all for your love. I just saw the movie star dancing the Yangko down there, and my tears just started flowing!"
It was truly an honor for Second Hand Rose to open for the Rolling Stones. Thank you, Lang Ge! Without Lang Ge, there would be no Second Hand Rose today... Although Lang Ge couldn't be on stage today, his encouragement from the audience was just as great!

The next song, I think, is quite fitting to sing here, at this time... Does anyone know "Crescent Moon at Dawn"...?

As soon as Liangzi shouted, many music fans from Northeast China in the audience yelled back, "We know!"

"Crescent Moon at Dawn" is a folk tune of the Han people in Northeast China, also known as "Diao Chan at Dawn" or "General's Dawn at Dawn". It originated from the black soil culture of Liaoning and Jilin. The lyrics are in the "five-watch style" and each watch must contain the three characters "crescent moon", hence the name.

The lyrics of the work unfold in the order of the five watches of the night, and connect the narrative through the stories of historical figures such as Diao Chan worshipping the moon, Han Xiangzi cultivating Taoism, and Wu Zixu saving his lord, while incorporating folk elements such as love and loyalty.

The entire piece adopts the musical structure of Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form), with the Shang mode and mixed rhythmic shifts creating emotional tension. The first three phrases employ repetition and variation, while the final phrase concludes with a fixed melody from Northeast folk songs. The tune is bold and unrestrained, with colloquial characteristics, and is widely popular in the three northeastern provinces.

As mentioned before, without Second Hand Rose, these folk songs would likely have few listeners and few people would know about them outside of Northeast China.

However, on this planet, Bianlang plays a much bigger role than Ershou!

Given the usual style of secondhand stores, everyone felt that it would probably start with a lot of fanfare, like a wedding or funeral.

But as soon as the prelude to "Crescent Moon Rhapsody" started, it immediately transported music lovers to "British music!"

Ivo's reaction speaks volumes. After hearing the first two chords, he exclaimed, "I feel like I'm back in Manchester!"

It wasn't until Liangzi's signature Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form) singing style came out that the feeling was brought back to reality:
My hometown is in the north, and my songs are wandering.
My hometown is in the north, and my songs wander.

My hometown is in the north, and my songs wander.

My madness lies far away, but the familiar accent makes me look back…

As soon as these four lines of lyrics were sung, countless immigrants from Northeast China in the audience immediately understood the meaning behind Liang Zi's words!
Why is it appropriate to sing this song here? Isn't it because there are so many people from Northeast China here?
Who would willingly leave their hometown unless absolutely necessary? But the current situation in Northeast China... those who know, know...

On Earth, the underlying tone of modern culture in Northeast China was not comedy, but tragedy.

In recent years, all the Northeasterners who have stepped onto the cultural stage, whether it's Ershou, Baoshi Laojiu, Xin Shuang, Zheng Zhi, or Shuang Xuetao, their works mostly appear lively and festive, and even have a touch of "unconventionality"...

But in reality, it is built upon the profound history of Northeast China, where people, facing long, harsh winters, choose to digest all the happiness and pain in their lives through comedy.

The same applies to Earth...

So when the verse started, many music fans from Northeast China were dancing along while secretly wiping away tears.
"After dusk, ideals turned the young man's hair white."
The sun has set behind the hills, who stands at the crossroads...?

The night is still dark at midnight, and you can't get enough of the wine from this foreign land.

The moon rises again in the east, whose loneliness ascends to the west tower...?

(End of this chapter)