Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

A group of 13 bands, nearly 60 rock musicians, lined up to check in at Changshui Airport – a truly rare sight.

Everyone was wearing sunglasses, masks, and studded leather jackets; they didn't even need to hold up signs—they practically screamed "Keep Out!" The young man handling the baggage check-in couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for his colleague, seeing that more than half of the luggage consisted of musical instruments.

When Bianlang, who had her hair in a ponytail, went to the restroom, she was stopped by the cleaning staff: "Young lady, you've gone to the wrong restroom, this is the men's room!"

Bian Lang took off his mask and joked with the old man, "Grandpa, do they also stop people with buzz cuts over at the women's restroom?"

"Oh, so you're a guy. That's good. I actually stopped a pervert once. He was wearing a hat and a mask, and his hair wasn't as long as yours. He was rushing into the women's restroom with his head down. He was later caught and taken to the police station..."

The old man spoke very seriously, but Bian Lang felt a little embarrassed listening to him.

The flight crew had been notified in advance, and to avoid any unnecessary trouble, they arranged for the rock tour group to sit together at the back after obtaining their consent.

The flight attendants are used to meeting celebrities, but this is the first time they've ever seen a large group of rock musicians traveling together. Especially with Bian Lang's recent online popularity, two female flight attendants who love rock music are already discussing how to get his autograph.

Nothing went wrong throughout the trip. Bian Lang and Chen Shuting spent the entire journey discussing the itinerary, excluding album recording.

Apart from the Rolling Stones and The Wind, the other band members had to go on other commitments after recording, while The Wind had to stay in Beijing to participate in a small music festival.

This time, Magpie was a bit frustrated because his schedule with Rolling Stones clashed with his performance with a local food vendor, meaning he was destined to miss out on appearing on CCTV-7. His girlfriend, Tong Qi, even joked that they should just disband and let him go play with Bian Lang.

The magpie was so frightened that it immediately raised its paws in surrender: "If anyone should go, it's you..."

Upon arriving in Beijing, the weather wasn't great; it was drizzling. Bian Lang looked out the bus window at the night sky through the rain and couldn't help but think of his past life when he first started his life as a migrant worker in Beijing.

Back in 2000, he rented a small house in Shucun and met Yunpeng. At that time, the band hadn't been formed yet, and he was busking at various subway entrances and bars. There were no schools back then, and he and his group often hung out at the River Bar, including Wan Zong, Quan Ge, and "Suo Ge"...

"They say your face is covered in dust, they say your tears fly in the sky, they say your home is in the mountains, they say who will listen to your songs, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Bian Lang could not sing with the boldness, desolation and high-pitchedness of Quan Ge's Northwest style, but in the bus carriage on a rainy night, such a low hum sounded very sad.

Huang Kai had to cancel his variety show appearances because he was with the band. He had just dozed off on Bian Lang's shoulder when he was woken up by the singing. After a moment of surprise, the man from Northwest China said, "Bian Lang, didn't you used to have a girlfriend from Northwest China who herded sheep at someone's house...?"

……

Pan Jianhu arranged the accommodation for us. Rock Records booked three rooms in a hostel near Baihua Recording Studio for half a month. It was less than 100 meters away, and there were all kinds of music instrument shops around, which was very convenient for recording albums.

The other bands from Huaxia Rock 29 have also been arranged to stay here, making it convenient for them to record songs these few days.

After Chen Shuting and Bian Lang settled in, they took a taxi back to their home in Beijing. Exhausted, the group had no desire to go out. They bought some alcohol, ordered takeout, and started drinking under the canopy in the hostel courtyard. There were no other guests at the hostel, so they weren't worried about disturbing anyone.

Pan Jianhu had just arrived from Lucheng after finishing recording a variety show. After having a drink with Bian Lang for a while, he gave him a heads-up: "Bian Lang, you need to be mentally prepared. Getting all these people in the industry together is no easy task. It's no less difficult than the Chinese national football team finding 11 men to break out of Asia. Recording will probably not go very smoothly starting tomorrow."

"Hey, Tiger, what are you saying? The national football team is the result of the entire nation's efforts; we dare not compare ourselves to them..."

Even if Pan Jianhu hadn't said anything, Bian Lang was already prepared. After all, everyone was a bit hot-blooded at the time, and now that things have cooled down, all sorts of different thoughts are bound to arise in their minds.

Those who play rock music are all uncontrollable types. Not to mention the bands that are not affiliated with the Nanyin music system, there have already been some discordant voices. Although it is just a matter of disagreement about the order of recording songs, it is still a bad sign.

"Yeah, I know what I'm doing. Tiger, please keep an eye on things. It wouldn't be good if something good turned into us becoming enemies..."

After a short while of eating and drinking, Ding Tong and Lao Zhao arrived with several members of the Pastoral Song Band.

Upon seeing Pan Jianhu, Ding Tong recalled his participation in "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March," and her envy, jealousy, and resentment instantly manifested in her words: "Tiger, look how smug you are. Remember how pathetic you were when you left Beijing..."

Pan Jianhu wasn't annoyed: "With Bian Lang around, he'll earn it back sooner or later! But Lao Ding, I really have to thank you for that matter with the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe, Bian Lang..." Bian Lang had been wondering about this before, but with Pan Jianhu's connections in the Beijing circle, Ding Tong could guess it even without him saying anything.

"Hey, you really have to thank me for this! Bian Lang, I want to talk to you about something. Add me to the recording of 'Rock 'The New Long March,' and the lead guitarist will play for you. Just focus on singing!"

Bian Lang didn't even need to think about it; he readily agreed: "Okay, with you leading the way, I'll feel much more at ease when we go on CCTV-7. If you're familiar with 'Dyeing the Night Black,' you can come over tomorrow..."

After finalizing things with Ding Tong, Bian Lang had a private chat with Lao Zhao: "Thanks so much, Lao Zhao. Let's not talk about what happened before. This time, you even turned down your variety shows to come and record the song."

"Well, compared to you, what we did is nothing. If it weren't for you leading the way, we, the Pastoral Song Band, really don't know when we would have become so popular in Europe. You might not know this in Kunming, but after this incident, the Central Conservatory of Music even gave a few of our band members a special mention among its alumni..."

Speaking of this, Lang suddenly remembered that the members of the Pastoral Song Band, like the original Baojia Street No. 43 band, are among the few formally trained graduates of the Central Conservatory of Music.

Bian Lang took out his phone, scrolled through it for a while, opened a folder, and handed the phone over, saying, "I said I wanted to thank everyone before. Lao Zhao, what do you think of this song? Is it suitable for your band?"

Bian Lang had discussed this with Lao Zhao before, offering to help the bands who worked on "Dye the Night Black" by writing a song for each band if they were willing. The reason Bian Lang didn't forcefully reject the idea was that he knew rock musicians were proud and valued self-expression; they were less likely to accept having others write songs for them if they could write them themselves.

Besides, with so many bands and so many styles, people don't believe that he's good at everything just because he's been around.

Although Lao Zhao helped to convey the message at the time, even he himself didn't really take it to heart.

When Bian Lang brought it up again, he said nonchalantly, "Really, there's no need, Bian Lang. I appreciate the sentiment, but your Rock Records album hasn't even been released yet. You should keep it for yourselves."

Although he said that, driven by curiosity, his hands didn't stop moving, and he casually took the phone and started looking at it.

"I feel lonely now, sad and bitter. I have no love and no savings. Only fantasy can bring me a little warmth. Every morning I count to three... Love is a bomb in my pocket, and life is like a tattered vest. Now I don't need beer or God anymore. I really, really, really need you so much..."

"Isn't this one of our band's songs? Damn, Bian Lang is a god!" Thinking to himself, Lao Zhao began to regret his quick remark. It's true that rock musicians aren't very accepting of others writing songs for them, but that also depends on the quality of the song and how well it suits them.

When Bian Lang takes this song out now and looks at the drum score, the emphasis on the difference between the beat and the weak beat, as well as the orderly appearance of the empty beats in the loop, is exactly the blues rock that their band is best at.

Then look at those words that struck a chord with him: "Tsk tsk!"

Seeing Lao Zhao's conflicted expression, wanting to give in but unable to, Bian Lang chuckled and said, "How about letting the other guys in the band take a look?"

Bian Lang offered him a way out, and Old Zhao had no reason not to take the opportunity. He immediately waved and said, "Brothers, come and see, Bian Lang wrote a song for us."

After watching it, the lead singer Lei Luo put his arm around Bian Lang's shoulder and said, "Bian Lang, Lao Zhao was just being polite to you, wasn't he? Just ignore what he said. Give me a plan for this song."

"Leave the copyright to me, and Rolling Stone Records will handle the distribution for you. The revenue will be split 2/8, with Rolling Stones getting 2% ​​and you getting 8%."

Hearing this, the members of the Pastoral Band looked at each other and nodded in agreement, saying, "Okay, let's do it that way."

Lei Luo added, "If anyone causes trouble tomorrow, we'll back you up!"

The next day, things turned out exactly as Pan Jianhu had predicted. They were supposed to meet at 10 a.m., but by 11 a.m., only about 7% of the people had arrived. The group of drunkards, including the one with the control stick, did come, but Li Hao and Tian Yuan started vomiting right there at the alley entrance, clearly still drunk from the night before.

Pan Jianhu called them one by one, but some made excuses like they were on the road or stuck in traffic, while others didn't answer or simply hung up.

Checking the time, Bian Lang said to Pan Jianhu, "Brother Hu, you keep an eye on things here. I'm going to the airport to pick up Olaf." After saying that, he and Chen Shuting headed to the airport.