The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 883 Finding a True Friend is Hard to Find, "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular" (Part 2)
Continuing the number of tracks from the fifth Chinese album, the sixth album, "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular," also has 14 tracks, with half on side A and half on side B.

After the seven songs on side A, we move on to side B, where the first song is naturally the album's title track, Xu Song's classic masterpiece: "A Song for All".

Placing this song at the beginning of side B not only echoes the album title and highlights the theme, but also serves as a transition to the last track on side A, "Bo Ya's Broken String."

They said, "Quickly write a love song that is both elegant and popular, vivid and easy to sing."
"She's elegant in public and skilled in the kitchen, just like the girl I've been looking for."

"Quickly write a love song that appeals to both refined and popular tastes; after solving the word puzzle, you still need to keep ranking."
"A touch of self-admiration suddenly appeared in its charm."

The content of this album is a response to the criticisms from many music critics and industry insiders when the fifth album "Hush" was released—that it was too vulgar.

At the same time, it is also the core message of the entire Zhouyi album: no matter how I write, there will always be people who are not satisfied.

This song clearly puts the problem out in the open—that is, given his current status in the music industry, a complex melody with low popularity would be considered out of touch with reality, too highbrow and out of touch with the market.

A simple melody that is easy to sing along to can be criticized for being too down-to-earth or falling into clichés in pursuit of popularity.

Especially after the criticism that the fifth album "Hush" was too popular.

However, it is clear that Zhou Yi did not accept the criticism that his lyrics and music were too popular, which is why he created "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular" and the songs that follow on side B.

Looking at the global music scene, whether it's the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, or the Chinese music industry, songs about love are always the most numerous.

However, with so many love songs already written, it's become increasingly difficult to create new and meaningful love songs at this stage of pop music development.

This is also one of the main reasons why the "Xu" chapter of the Five Elements of the Book of Changes was criticized.

Therefore, after Zhou Yi expressed his dissatisfaction with "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular," the following B-side songs were his "showcase" of skills specifically in the realm of love songs.

The second song on side B: "A Thousand Miles Away".

A phenomenal work by Jay Chou and Fei Yu-ching.

"The eaves are like cliffs, the wind chimes like the vast sea, we await the return of the swallows."
"Time is arranged, an accident is staged, and you quietly walk away..."

The lyrics depict the emotions between young people against the backdrop of a turbulent era of war. The line "Where does the sound of the zither come from? Life and death are hard to guess" expresses how love in wartime often ends in tragedy. The delicate lyrics portray the feelings and sorrow for the deceased lover, highlighting the tragic song of the great era.

The lyrics of this traditional Chinese folk song, which sits at the pinnacle of Chinese pop music, interpret tragic love songs to the fullest extent from a Chinese perspective.

Didn't those music critics, public intellectuals, and industry insiders say my love songs were cheesy when I was in my fifth year of high school?
Tell me, is "A Thousand Miles Away" elegant or vulgar?

Although it's still about the cliché theme of love.

And next, it's still about love.

The third song on side B: "Cultivating Love".

Lin Junjie's most important and widely sung representative work.

While still a clichéd love story that has been criticized in the Chinese music scene and even the world music scene, "Cultivating Love" still manages to offer a fresh perspective. Although the melody and lyrics are no longer in the Chinese style, the song's modern, descriptive lyrics still manage to avoid being clichéd.

"The bitterness of experiencing love, learning to let go of past desires, how difficult it is for us to forget our beliefs."

"Far Away" tells a tragic love story about loss, while "Cultivating Love" depicts the pain, struggle, and perseverance after losing love.

The former is melancholic and poignant, while the latter is positive and uplifting.

One ancient and one modern, they perfectly connect to form an emotional journey from losing love to actively moving on.

The fourth song on side B is "Qian Baidu".

One of Xu Song's most outstanding lyric-writing works, it was later included in the revised edition of "University Chinese" published by People's Publishing House. This textbook is a "12th Five-Year Plan" textbook and has official authority.

The lyrics draw inspiration from Xin Qiji's poem "Qing Yu An: Yuan Xi" while incorporating modern narrative, showcasing a fusion of classical and modern elements—but ultimately, the song is about love.

The lyrics are told from the perspective of a young, womanizing playboy who, in middle age, realizes that the love he initially betrayed was pure and beautiful. By then, he can no longer find his wife—

"I searched for you a thousand times, another year has passed, but you are never there where the lights are dim."

This is also the meaning behind the song title "A Thousand Times": I searched for her a thousand times, but she was not there at all.

Although it still deals with love and maintains a Chinese style, it expresses a completely different sentiment from the previous work, "A Thousand Miles Away."

This song is meant to tell the story of a prodigal son returning home and repenting, and to warn you to cherish what you have.

Correspondingly, the fifth song on side B is "Unfortunately, There's No If".

Like "Cultivating Love," it is also one of Lin Junjie's most important and widely sung representative works.

In fact, in terms of importance, "Unfortunately, If" is slightly better and can easily squeeze into the top five.

In some people's minds, this song could even be ranked in the top three, or it could be considered the pinnacle of his modern love song career.

The lyrics of this song describe a story of missed opportunities.

"If only I had said what needed to be said properly that day, and had not been so insistent on what I should have understood."
"If I hadn't been swayed by my emotions that day, what would you have done?" So many "what ifs," "what ifs," but unfortunately, there are no "what ifs."

It's the same pattern, one ancient and one modern.

"A Thousand Degrees" teaches you to cherish what you have and not miss out.
"Unfortunately, If Only" tells the story of regret and remorse after missing out.

They all tell clichéd love stories, and are also the most heart-wrenching tales of regret and sorrow, but the lyrics and melodies still manage to differentiate them.

Following "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular," the two sets of melodies, lyrics, and arrangements, one ancient and one modern, directly demonstrated four ways to write love songs.

This is yet another response from the outside world to the initial doubts about the five elements of Chinese literature being too specialized and vulgar.

Then came the sixth song on side B, the closing song: "A Song Not Written for Anyone".

One of Lin Junjie's classic representative works in his later years, it has always been jokingly referred to as "a song that only I can sing".

The theme of this song is no longer romantic love, but it is still about love—a tribute to the love that exists in the world.

Although the song is titled "A Song Not Written for Anyone," the actual lyrics are a thank you to all those who have lent a helping hand to others in life, as well as those who silently stood by him and supported him when Zhou Yi's fifth album faced a lot of criticism.

The former reflects the beauty of humanity in this world, choosing to support the I Ching out of the goodness inherent in human nature;

The latter represents the strong support of fans, and can be considered a subset of the former group.

They are the forces that have allowed Zhouyi to quietly persevere through the various doubts and media storms it has faced over the past five years.

The seventh song on side B: "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky".

An encouraging letter to all those who are working tirelessly.

Whenever you encounter setbacks or doubts, I hope this song can give you and all of you the motivation to keep going.

This includes fans, passersby, and even Zhou Yi himself when he was being questioned.

Whenever I can't find meaning in my existence, whenever I'm lost in the darkness
"The brightest star in the night sky, please light my way forward."

Because this entire album, "Appreciated by Both the Refined and the Popular," is Zhou Yi's response to the criticism he faced after the release of his fifth album, "Hush."

Starting with "Full Power," each song on Side A is a standalone piece of music.

A patriotic response to "Open Fire";
The Emperor's Response;
"Chinese Girl" is a response to the rumors.

"Highway" is a book filled with bewildered thoughts as it is caught in a vortex.
"Whose Oscar?" provides the answer;
"Handshake" expresses disappointment with the chaos in online society;
He longs to find a kindred spirit who can understand the meaning behind his album, "Bo Ya's Broken String".

They come in various styles: autotune, dance, retro funk, pop, R&B, hard rock, and Chinese style.

The single A-side alone brings together seven modern pop songs of different musical styles, but the theme remains consistent with the Zhou Yi (Book of Changes), making it a true showcase of musical skill.

The only problem is that the lyrics are all very commonplace.

Even the most profound of them all, "Handshake," was once considered a smutty song by those who researched it during the mobile internet era because of its overly obscure lyrics. The Chinese-style lyrics of "Bo Ya's Broken String" were not particularly original.

Needless to say, the Chinese lyrics are completely mismatched with the musical themes.

Side B is the exact opposite—it only features pop and pop rock.

Strictly speaking, it's just about popularity.

After all, it is common knowledge that pop rock has long been expelled from the rock genre.

Musically, aside from the final two songs, "A Song for No One" and "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky," all the songs are clichéd love stories that have been overused in the world of music today, but the melodies and lyrics are still very beautiful.

The A-side, which broadens and integrates the highly multifaceted themes of music, is considered the elegance within the height of pop music, but the lyrics are written in an unbearably vulgar style;

While the lyrics of Chinese pop songs may be considered elegant in terms of composition, the underlying themes are often considered vulgar and disliked by contemporary pop music audiences.

When they are placed together, which one can be called vulgar, and which one can be called elegant?
Or——

"A work that appeals to both refined and popular tastes"?
This world is not made up of diodes. Musical songs that explore the upper limit of Chinese music need to be made, and popular songs that cultivate the music market and musical aesthetics also need to be made. Neither can operate independently of the market.

If only the former exists, the music scene will fall into a vicious cycle of highbrow music being unpopular and the market collapsing. Like A-side, very few songs can be popularized.

If only the latter is true, the music scene will also enter a vicious cycle of severe homogenization, much like the B-side, with love stories being just repackaged versions of the same old thing.

Therefore, there is no need to make unfounded accusations against either of them.

This is the answer given by the I Ching.

If those radical music critics, industry insiders, and even netizens and public intellectuals who have listened to this album are willing to agree with his answer—

True connoisseurs are hard to find, but works that appeal to both the refined and the common people are worthwhile.

(End of this chapter)