Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 997 The Underlying Tragic Tone
During the interlude, Lao Wu went straight to the electric harp. This electric harp solo created a humorous effect that was completely out of place with modern music. It was precisely this contrast that surprised the music fans in the audience who were used to all kinds of mainstream rock music.

After listening to Bian Lang, he felt that Lao Wu's status as the top folk music singer at Rock Records was still rising: "Tiger, with Lao Wu's current condition, if he went to Cuihu Lake to play an electric saxophone, he could probably get a lot of old ladies to bring him chicken soup every day."

If Pan Jianhu were drinking tea right now, he would definitely spit it all over Bian Lang's face: "Old Wu isn't as trendy as those old men. I took a stroll around earlier, and the old men by Cuihu Lake are all incredibly cool. Their outfits are pretty much like those of the military police back in the day..."

Although Bian Lang hadn't seen it in person, having frequented Green Lake in his past life, he knew exactly what those Yunnanese men dressed like. Black leather shorts paired with a red vest, a gold tie, and a black top hat—even Jackson would exclaim, "Stylish!"

At this moment, Liangzi's outfit was even more splendid than that of the Yunnanese men by the Green Lake!

Wearing a short red cape, shorts in a red and green floral cotton-padded jacket, and high boots, along with exaggerated smoky makeup, she would definitely be considered a madwoman on the street. But Liang Zi on stage, if not 100% compatible with this outfit, is at least 99% a perfect match.

According to Liangzi's own interpretation, "Without this outfit, Second Hand Rose would lose its soul!"

Bian Lang, the chief designer, only provided an idea at the beginning. Liang Zi and the others were able to figure out how to turn the band into what it is today, which is definitely inseparable from their own unique qualities.

Take this enchanting singing style and the twists and turns in the song, for example. Bian Lang can imitate it once or twice without any problem, but he can never sing with the same spirit and energy that Liang Zi and the others exude from the very core of their being.

"In the deep of night, it's hard to tell whether someone is a human or a ghost."
The moon rises due south again, and dreams and reality are mutually exclusive...

For Northeasterners familiar with this stuff, the feelings at this moment are quite complex. These old things were instilled in them from childhood, ingrained in their very being. But after leaving the Northeast and being influenced by outside ideas, they feel this stuff is outdated. This sentiment is even more pronounced among some younger people who had little exposure to it in their childhood.

But looking at Liang Zi on stage, listening to the familiar yet unfamiliar, cheesy yet sophisticated music, and seeing the various reactions of the people in the audience, these kids from Northeast China began to understand: "This thing called hometown is really something that's hard to understand!"

"At the fourth watch of the night, the darkness is so deep you can't see your hand in front of your face."
The moon is rising due west again; don't be fooled by someone who cries "thief" while pretending to be one...

The fifth watch is dawn again; new love and old love are all part of the same emotion.

The moon rises due north, and from afar I gaze upon the bright light of my hometown…

Hearing this, many Northeasterners who had lived in the South for many years began to prepare to shed tears.

They don't use the metaphorical language of the South, like "Nostalgia is a small stamp, I'm on this side, and my mother is on the other side..."; they're straightforward:
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…

During the final chorus, everyone from Northeast China sang it the loudest, especially the tough guys, whose voices even sounded a little tearful.

However, this was not the climax of the performance. Right after the finale, which seemed to cover both weddings and funerals in one go, Lao Wu replaced the electric saxophone he had been playing the whole song with a suona.

As soon as the suona horn started playing, the music fans in the audience knew that something amazing was about to happen.

Sure enough, as the suona began to play, all the main lights on the stage suddenly went out, and some sensitive music fans began to think about some unpleasant things.

However, the darkness only lasted for a second or two, after which a spotlight appeared, and standing in the circle of light were a man and a woman, two Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form) performers in full makeup.

When the lyrics of the proper version of "Five Crescent Moons" were sung, every Northeasterner in the audience was moved to tears!
Fu Yiran, ignoring her tears, "flew" onto the stage with the indulgence and help of Bian Lang and the others. She picked up the props prepared by Liang Zi and the others, and started dancing the Yangko with the Northeastern guys, including Second Hand Rose.

This scene truly touched the softest spot in the hearts of everyone from Northeast China present. Afterwards, the host interviewed a young man who was crying very hard. After wiping away his tears, the young man said this:
"I'm a pure Northeastern man, currently working hard here. I've never been interested in Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form) since I was a child. Today, when I first heard this song, I thought it was about to end. But then the suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) started playing, and I stood up straight, feeling like the big one was coming. I was still smiling expectantly. But as soon as the Errenzhuan performers came out and the tune started, I burst into tears. I couldn't stop crying, and my mask of pain came off. Why? Why? Why couldn't I hold back my tears?!"

As for Bian Lang, looking at this stage that felt no less impressive than the original Earth's Second Hand team, he naturally thought of the other "demon" soul in the Second Hand team besides Liang Long, Aunt Lan.

Bian Lang and Aunt Lan spent a lot of time together when they were in Beijing, mainly because Aunt Lan liked to drink tea and Bian Lang liked to give tea to people.

I especially love the gift to Aunt Lan, the Chinese Lennon. In the words of lead singer Aunt Liang, "Guitar Yao Lan looks a bit like Lennon. She is very much like Lennon, but I don't know when she will pass away."

As the guitarist of China's most flamboyant rock band, Aunt Lan is perfectly suited to the "flamboyant" role on stage.

With his round-framed glasses that resemble those of John Lennon, his long, messy hair, his ever-changing stage looks, top-notch guitar skills, and flamboyant live performances, he is definitely the most "flamboyant" guitarist in China.

However, even someone as seemingly unrestrained and flamboyant as Aunt Lan hides another side of herself. Just based on Aunt Lan's love for old Nokia phones, Bian Lang is certain that he's a total old-school person.

In 96, 16-year-old Aunt Lan and a few friends formed a rock band and performed at school and some bars in Beijing, where she met the members of the Purple Ring Band.

To form a band and play rock music, Aunt Lan decisively dropped out of school. During that time, she opened a record store, sold bootleg albums, and even opened a rehearsal room for people who loved music like her to rehearse. But in the end, all of them closed down. The record store was raided, the rehearsal room lost money, and in the end, she simply became a full-time musician.

In 98, the Purple Ring Band announced their reunion and officially invited Aunt Lan to join them. In 2000, the Purple Ring Band released a new single called "The Death of the Swan," which was included in the "Stage Music Special" released that year.

This album also includes "Wind Spirit" by Reincarnation Band, "I Want to Hug You Every Time" by Gao Qi & Overload Band, and "Right Here" by Cold-Blooded Animals... Meanwhile, Second Hand Rose caused a sensation in Beijing with its strong rural flavor. At that time, the Beijing music scene was buzzing with the news that "a band's performance was hilarious, and they went on stage wearing only underwear and slippers, dressed as matchmakers."

After watching their performance, Lao Cui said that Second Hand Rose had a strong concept and awareness, but their technique was too weak.

It was Lao Cui's comment that determined the prerequisite for Aunt Lan, a technical expert, to join Secondhand Rose!

In 2003, after leaving Zihuan, Lan Yi came into contact with Second Hand Rose, participated in the band's rehearsals, and also participated in Second Hand Rose's "Tongtian Concert" held at the Beijing Exhibition Center. In 2005, Lan Yi officially joined Second Hand Rose.

Bian Lang felt that joining Second Hand Rose was the best decision Lan Yi made in her music career. It not only improved Lan Yi's own skills, awareness, and fame, but also helped Second Hand Rose escape the predicament of being "technically weak".

Aunt Lan is the kind of musician who is completely different in daily life and on stage. In private, Bian Lang felt that she was always decadent, as if she was on drugs, and could even be described as sleazy, but when she picked up her guitar and stood on the stage, the crazy energy in her bones would instantly emerge.

Just as Aunt Lan herself said, "Seeing the audience go crazy, I went crazy too." This kind of madness can't be expressed by simply changing into strange clothes or going naked. If it weren't for Aunt Lan's madness, Bian Lang felt that Aunt Long alone wouldn't have been able to carry the show.

For example, at the launch of her secondhand album "Everyone Has the Heart of a Lead Singer," Aunt Lan, who wasn't wearing any clothes, went on stage and indulged her passion for being a lead singer. This is absolutely on par with the crazyness of beauty blogger Aunt Long.

Besides being a pioneering guitarist, Aunt Lan lives like an "old man" in her daily life. She says she is an old man from an old hutong in Beijing, and a very retro one at that.

Besides enjoying making calls and browsing Weibo using the oldest Nokia phones, he also likes to visit flea markets and find junk items that he can and can't use.

Even when he has nothing to do on weekdays, he will stay at home to raise cats, cook, or paint a picture, as if the madness on stage has exhausted his strength and he needs to recuperate like an old man, and then wait for the next outburst.

A guitarist who yearns for life in Beijing's hutongs but can drive audiences wild on stage – he embodies the most flamboyant version of "BJ Grandpa".

After the final revelry, Liangzi called on Fu Yingdi and his bandmates to bow deeply to the two Errenzhuan performers.

This bow, in the eyes of many, is a tribute to the forgotten folk art, to the fertile land of their hometown that is gradually fading away, to those who still persist in trying to preserve their roots, and to those who have wandered far from home and have no way back.

Bian Lang's thoughts were interrupted by Fu Yiran after he stepped off the stage: "Bian Lang, you're not even from Northeast China, so how come you can perform Errenzhuan so skillfully and elegantly?"

"It's mainly thanks to Liangzi and the others. I just wrote a song. It's just that you Northeasterners all have such a uniform vibe. If you asked me to sing it, it would be a complete train wreck..."

Fu Yiran did not deny this, and he himself believed it to be true.

Let's talk about the traditional art form of Errenzhuan, which originated in Northeast China and shares the same spirit as the region: passionate, tragic, and righteous. The old artist Xiao Taohong was adopted as a goddaughter by Zhang Zuolin. After the Xi'an Incident, when Zhang Xueliang was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek in Fenghua, Xiao Taohong would visit him every few years to perform for him, allowing him to hear his familiar accent.

Of course, there were also some people who were not from Northeast China, but were equally impressed after watching the performance: "Although the glory of Northeast China is no longer there, the culture of Northeast China is still being vigorously inherited, integrated, and accumulated among generations of hardworking people in Northeast China."

Logically, the Rolling Stones should follow next. In the past, before the show here was over, most of the fans would start to move to the Rolling Stones stage to grab the best seats.

But Second Hand Rose's performance today left many veteran rock fans rooted to the spot, only snapping out of their daze after the final song and sprinting towards the Rolling Stones stage. Others who had arrived earlier, gazing at the scene on the Coconut Palm stage, began to regret their decision.

Most of Guo Sichu's fans went to the Rolling Stone stage to wait around halfway through the second-hand singing competition.

On the Rolling Stones stage, Guo Sichu, who was about to start, looked at the scene, which was quite different from the previous Rolling Stones Music Festivals, and was also happy for Second Hands' successful performance: "If Bian Lang were standing here, he would definitely think the same way I do!"

However, thinking about her own debut performance, she started to get nervous again.

This time, Bian Lang surprisingly stayed in the audience until the penultimate day before running towards the Rolling Stones stage. Usually, he would have been on stage preparing by now.

Having gone from being the protagonist on stage to a spectator in the audience, Bian Lang wasn't particularly sentimental; in fact, he found it quite pleasant. Being able to listen to others perform classic stories from Earth on this planet was a kind of enjoyment, wasn't it?

It would be even better if we could have one or two other time travelers with us, listening to music and chatting about the various works from our original Earth, but alas...

Halfway through his run, Bian Lang felt his phone, which was on vibrate, suddenly vibrate a few times. He stopped, took it out, and saw that it was indeed a photo sent to him by Guo Sichu. In the photo, Guo Sichu was in the center, surrounded by the other musicians of the Rolling Stones, who seemed to be the center of attention.

Judging from the other musicians' state and expressions, Bian Lang felt that Guo Sichu was probably the most nervous one!
This situation shouldn't occur for someone like Guo Sichu who has been on stage for so many years. But to be honest, being nervous is to be expected.

If Bian Lang were to put himself in Guo Sichu's shoes, he would realize that this performance wasn't just about Guo Sichu; it also involved Bian Lang, the other side of the group, the Rolling Stones, and even the entire Rolling Stone Records.

Thinking of all this, Bian Lang quickened his pace even further as he headed towards the stage.

Just before the curtain was about to rise, he leaped onto the stage and rushed towards Guo Sichu, pulling her into his arms...

(End of this chapter)