Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

Bian Lang's arrangement this time is basically based on the version from Lao Cui's 92 Beijing Exhibition Center concert, except that a percussionist is missing.

Another major difference is that back then, Cui Yongyuan played the rhythm guitar and Eddie was the lead vocalist, while this time with Rolling Stones, Bian Lang is both the lead singer and lead guitarist.

As a pioneering work of Chinese rock, this song influenced many rock bands afterward, for example, each musician would take a solo during the interlude.

At this moment, after Bian Lang called out Magpie's name, he made way for the other person. Although he completed a solo that lasted almost 30 seconds and consisted almost entirely of tapping the strings, Magpie's steady rhythm made Bian Lang's solo stand out! So, from a visual perspective, it was as if Magpie was the one doing the solo.

Although this format is not new on Earth, it depends on the song and the level of the performance.

Regardless of the nature of this live stream, the sheer number of nearly a million people watching simultaneously on Bilibili alone is enough to give Xique (a popular Chinese rock music streamer) enough screen time to propel her from obscurity in the rock music scene to mainstream recognition.

Right after the magpie finished its solo segment, the number of simultaneous viewers in the live stream reached the million-person limit. Chen Bing watched with a mixture of excitement and regret as the streaming was throttled, and silently took out his phone to send a message to the head of the customer service department: "Brother, I'll have to work on the rest!"

Meanwhile, the head of the planning department also began to consider how to maintain public opinion while using this topic to generate buzz for their own website the next day.

Ding Tong, watching this scene, wished she could jump to the other side of the screen, drag Magpie down, and play the lead vocals herself so Bian Lang could sing properly: "There aren't many lead singers who play the lead vocals. Bian Lang is really something else. He's played this far, and except for solos, he basically doesn't even look at the strings. Isn't he afraid of making mistakes?"

Before Ding Tong spoke up, not many people paid attention to this issue. Now that this veteran had pointed it out, the lead singer and guitarist present realized just how awesome Bian Lang really was.

Li Hao: "This must have been practiced for a long time. The melody probably already existed, but that jerk spurred him on, and he managed to come up with those lyrics. He's practically cheating!"

Ding Tong, who also writes songs, completely disagreed with Li Hao's statement: "The lyrics and music are too well-matched. I don't believe you didn't hear the military song part. In this happy era, who would write a song on this kind of subject unless something really happened? Besides, in my opinion, this kid isn't the type to hide his talents in secret, so this song was most likely written on the spot. I really want to know how long he can maintain this prolific creative output!"

Many people present might disagree if others said this, but when Ding Tong, a pioneer who can write his own songs, said it, everyone agrees!

At the same time, their admiration for Bian Lang's abilities in all aspects increased even further.

Back in his original world, Bian Lang would listen to this song from time to time to cheer himself up. Especially the video of his 92 Beijing Exhibition Center concert; every time he watched it, he would pick up his guitar and play a solo by Eddie, so now he can play it flawlessly without looking at the strings much.

At this moment, Bian Lang had already walked to Pan Jianhu's keyboard while playing the guitar. After calling out Pan Jianhu's name, the camera focused on him.

Watching him, with an expression masked by pain, trace a series of blues-rhythmic keyboard solos on the piano keys, beads of sweat began to fall like rolling balls, soaking the red scarf on his chest and staining his sailor shirt red.

Ding Tong shook her head directly: "This arrangement is amazing! If it weren't for Hu Zi, a less skilled person would have ruined this part. This song is just too rigid. Pop rock has really reached its limit!"

As the solo ended, the band members chanted in unison again:

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..."

After Bian Lang finished singing, he immediately shouted again, "Yuan Hao!"

When the camera cut to Yuan Hao, Ding Tong didn't want to say anything more. After taking a sip of beer, she stared at the projected image with a depressed look.

After someone with a keen eye pointed out Yuan Hao's identity, the rock music community was incredibly envious. A classical musician working as a backup musician in a rock band—among them, probably only Ding Tong had that kind of face.

But who can blame them when Bian Lang's song is so unprecedented? It's unlikely that anyone who comes after him can catch up. If they were in Yuan Hao's position, all the pride of playing classical music, the hierarchy of the music industry, the pretension of learning first and learning later, and the arrogance of specialization would all have to step aside!

Being able to participate in the premiere of this song is an achievement that one might not reach even after decades of hard work in a band.

Starting at 5 minutes and 36 seconds, Yuan Hao's saxophone solo continued until 6 minutes and 16 seconds.

Although it's unclear how many breaths he took in between, it gave the impression that he was holding his breath and blowing it down.

The comments section on Bilibili is now filled with the same exclamation: "With that lung capacity, she could probably blow a hot water bottle apart in one breath!"

Immediately afterwards, everyone in the band started improvising on the last chord of the song. In three seconds, in what seemed like a chaotic but actually well-ordered performance, "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March" came to a perfect end!

The music had stopped, but someone's mana could still be heard breathing heavily.

These brief few seconds seemed to be a moment of respite and reflection for everyone after the commotion.

Although the song is only 6 minutes and 19 seconds long, the events described in the lyrics span a full two years. In an era when few visual records were available, writing became the best tool to record this epic story.

Bian Lang, however, used just over 300 words, along with a rock-style arrangement, to vividly and spiritually depict this epic tale. While not perfect, it's undeniably unique and rock 'n' roll!

At this moment, the live stream chat was filled with the most straightforward yet powerful praises such as "Classic!", "Tears in my eyes!", and "So exciting!"

Of course, there were also quite a few people who wanted Bian Lang and his team to continue. They didn't want the passion that had been ignited to simply fade away, and they all wanted to stay immersed in this state of continuous climax.

But Bian Lang had already put down his electric guitar, and the others also put down their instruments, walked together, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and stood in a row with Bian Lang in the center.

After everyone bowed in gratitude, Bian Lang finally spoke: "This song is a tribute to the martyrs, a tribute to every one of us who is striving, and a tribute to all the Chinese people who, on this path, refuse to yield, refuse to reconcile, refuse to compromise, refuse to blindly follow, and are fearless!" At the same time, he silently added in his heart: "A tribute to Lao Cui!"

These words brought tears to the eyes of countless people, while others struggled to write them down, biting their lip and carefully choosing their words on their keyboards and phone screens.

He couldn't see these distractions; he simply continued introducing the band members as he had originally planned:

"Drummer: Chen Shaoyong... Bassist: Huang Kai... Keyboardist: Pan Jianhu... Rhythm Guitar: Magpie from Folk Foodie Band... Wind Instrument Player: Yuan Hao, Professor of Orchestral Department, Yunnan Arts University..."

Upon hearing Yuan Hao's introduction, Cheng Jinhui, who had been wavering between excitement and stunned silence countless times, earnestly told his parents and grandfather, "I've decided, I'm applying to Yunnan Arts University!"

After introducing the band members, Bian Lang continued, "Thank you to all the fans, musicians, and media friends who have supported us during this time! Just like in my song, Chinese rock and roll is still on a long march! I hope that this song will allow more people to hear and understand what real rock and roll is, instead of just parroting what others say online."