December 17th, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by zack
I’m not going to lie to you, folks: It’s slim pickings this weekend. Maybe you are lucky and you are leaving on a jet plane, winging to an exotic locale. Well, this week in Editor’s Picks we are going to take a trip, also. Let’s take a trip back in time and revisit some of my favorite shows of the year, laugh at my under-informed reviews, pine for the highs of 2009, and hope that the Expo doesn’t fuck everything up for 2010 live music in Shanghai. And don’t worry; we will still be ticking off the places to be this weekend, such as they are. However, each entry will have a companion piece, explaining where we wish we were again.
Makes sense? OK, let’s get to the picks.
Thursday, December 17th
Did you go see Friction 7 vs. Guzheng like I told you to last week? Have you been to Anar for one of their jam sessions? How about a little swing music at Melting Pot Hengshan Lu? Do what you feel. Get in where you fit in.
JZ Club
46 Fuxing Xi Lu,
Huaihai Zhong Lu
near Yongfu Lu, Metro Line 1 Changshu Lu Station
复兴西路46号
近永福路，地铁1号线常熟路站
Anar
129 Xingfu Lu,
Changning
near Fahuazhen Lu
幸福路129号
近法华镇路
288 The Melting Pot
Heng Shan Lu No.10, Near Yong Jia Lu
ground floor of Orden Bowling Center
Subway #1, exit 4 of Heng Shan Lu Station
Where I would rather be:
Lots of people have spoken about seeing a fantastic Mushrooms show this year, especially recently, as writers begin to take stock of the year that was. Well, way back in August I caught the Mushrooms for the first time at YuYinTang. Here is my review at the time. As I read it back, I feel sheepish comparing them with Linkin Park. Bad job by me. I’ve seen them a couple times since then and I would like to dissociate myself from those statements (although I said I like the Mushrooms and didn’t like LP). Unfortunately, it’s out there for everyone to see. But that’s just something I have to live with. Let me just say again: 2010, Year of the Mushroom.
Friday, December 18th
We All Have a Sorry Yesterday feat. 21 Grams, Pinkberry, Sonnet, and Jiao Ke at YuYinTang
Who me? Actually, my yesterday was pretty good. The sun was shining, I got some work done, it was cool. What happened to you?
You may remember 21 Grams from an MP3 Monday entry put together by the dashing Morgan Short. You may remember the movie from whence they take their name, or you may have heard that humans lose a small amount of weight when they die, which leads to speculation that 21 grams (actually, the numbers vary) is the weight of the soul. Or if you have heard none of those things, just know you are in for some pretty good music. However, Pinkberry is not my favorite band from Shanghai. We’ll just leave it at that. Jiao Ke I have no experience with, and Sonnet I have only seen briefly at the show I am about to reminisce about. Despite these tenuous bits of information, this event is going to garner the Editor’s Pick of the Week Seal of Approval. Like I said, slim pickings.
YuYinTang, 9 PM
1731 Yan’an Xi Lu,
Changning
Entrance at Kaixuan Lu
延安西路1731号
入口在凯旋路
30 kuai for ladies, 40 kuai for the dirtier sex
Where I would rather be:
Sonnet was the opening band for one of my favorite shows of the year, Bigger Bang at YuYinTang. This show was packed and I showed up a bit late, only hearing one song from Sonnet. Also, I could not go anywhere but to the side of the stage in the vestibule, and squeeze my way in, little by little. When I finally made it to the main area I saw, right in the middle, this thrashing, albino, alopecia-stricken gorilla. After I wrote the review, Andy Best commented on my post and then I found out the thrashing gorilla was Jake Newby. The show was great. I still remember Pupi’s polka dotted bathing costume with pink tights and the thin sheen of sweat frosting her back. I have recently purchased their EP. Two of the songs are great, two others are good, and one is pretty boring. There’s your instant CD review and here is my review of the show for you to peruse.
The Future feat. Ben Thriller and Mau Mau at Dada
I think a drunken me saw these guys at C’s last Thursday and maybe my drunken self liked it. I can’t confirm any of this, though. Just kidding. Actually I have seen Mau Mau a lot in the past few weeks and he always does something that doesn’t make me want to fall asleep, which is more than I can say for many DJs. So step into the future. Maybe it will cure your sorry yesterday.
Dada, 9 PM
115 Xingfu Lu,
near Fahuazhen Lu
No cover
Where I would rather be:
Many people will point to Dam-Funk as one of the top gigs at Shelter this year. I was pretty hyped for it, but primed myself a little too hard with a big dinner at a Sichuan restaurant and then beers with an old friend at everybody’s favorite dive bar, Time Passage. Anyways, I got into the Shelter and Dam-Funk didn’t go on. And didn’t go on. And didn’t go on. I think it was like 1 or 2 before he started and by this time I was falling out on my feet, drinking random drinks off the bar, and calling co-workers I happened to meet there unflattering names. Luckily, my poor wife dragged me home. I would definitely like a re-do on this one, but we’ll have to see about that one. Check out the preview for the show I did here.
Saturday, December 19th
Plastic Tree (JP) at MAO Livehouse
MAO Livehouse continues to stretch the limits of what people will pay to see middling bands. Did someone in management get whacked in the head by a crystal butterfly and take leave of their senses? Wait until the bottom for pricing information and see if you agree. I can’t decide if it’s the bands that are demanding exorbitant prices or what. They are brought to you by something called Icon Productions for Painkiller Magazine. Um, OK. Truthfully, I can’t tell you very much about this band because there is little about them on the web. No Myspace, nothing on Google Music, and I couldn’t even find them on emusic.com, which is usually one of my go-to sources. So you will have to decide if you want to take a chance on this decadent show.
MAO Livehouse, 8 PM
570 Huaihai Xi Lu
near Hongqiao Lu
淮海西路570号
近红桥路
280 kuai advance, 340 kuai (!) at the door
Where I would rather be:
I’ll tell you one Japanese band at MAO Livehouse that I would have shelled out 340 kuai for, although I didn’t have to (thanks, Reggie): That’s MONO. It was really a big event (I think pretty much everyone from Shanghai that you can read in English on the Internet was there) that lived up to the hype, although some thought it might have been a bit long (not me). As Dan said (paraphrasing), they are not really rock, or post-rock, they’re more like classical. It’s true. They just love to make perfectly-executed, atmospheric soundpieces. Their music was moving and, I think, one of the biggest moments of 2009 for Shanghai, although you could argue Ratatat because it was the biggest indie show up to that point. Anyway, here you can read my review of the MONO show.
Sunday, December 20th
Thrash the Night feat. Gum Bleed at YuYinTang
What the world needs now are punks, street punks. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. This will be a fun show, I guarantee, as long as enough people go. The music on their Myspace page is really fun and acerbic. You should go to this, I tell you. However, if I had my druthers…
YuYinTang, 9 PM
1731 Yan’an Xi Lu,
Changning
Entrance at Kaixuan Lu
延安西路1731号
入口在凯旋路
40 kuai
Where I would rather be:
The only thing better than street punks are dance punks. OK, some might disagree, but I’m going to make Pet
Conspiracy at MAO Livehouse my best show of the year anyway. As you may or may not have read, I was blown away by the band’s stage presence and the music was really fun and danceable. Their opening shtick with the struggling red cloth mummy set the tone for the whole set. I think I fell in love with Helen a little bit, which I’m not ashamed to admit. This show was preceded by the band nuding up for some pictures and then it set off the whole photographer debate. If nudity is how you “win the internet” then controversy is how you win my heart.
However, I will be at neither of these places this Sunday. I will be on a plane headed for a little holiday relaxation (I wonder if they will make me wear pants? You know how I feel about pants on Sunday.) So I will be taking a backseat role for a while. Mike and Mache will be handling the Editor’s Picks and other good stuff. 2009 has been great for me, especially since I started writing for Layabozi, and I look forward to bringing more hard-hitting stories to your brains in the New Year.
Have a great holiday season, wherever you are, whatever you celebrate, and make sure to check out and vote in the Duel of the Decade!
Year-End, nay! Decade’s End time-wasters:
Good job, world leaders in Copenhagen. Way to go. Anyone else think rich people will just destroy the earth for the sheer fun of it?
Along those lines, a pretty interesting story from the New Yorker’s Man in China, Evan Osnos.
Did you know world-famous DJ Heatwolves! (formerly of Baijiu Robots) has a blog? Now you do. It’s pretty cool. Magic cats, indeed.
Just another cool (B for) blog.
If you’re into this sort of thing, go for it.
And, finally, the ultimate time-waster of 2009.
tags: 21 Grams - Anar - Andy Best - Ben Thriller - Bigger Bang - Crazy Mushroom - Dada - Dam Funk - DJ Mau Mau - Duel of the Decade - Friction 7 - Gum Bleed - Icon Productions - Jake Newby - Jiao Ke - Mao Livehouse - MONO - Morgan Short - Pet Conspiracy - Pinkberry - Plastic Tree - Sonnet - The Melting Pot - The Shelter - YuYinTang
November 7th, 2009 |
Posted in Articles by mache
October was the happy anniversary of the Party. To commemorate this unforgettable date and help it be a bit more unforgettable, we created a little anthology of China’s music.
The 60 years of the party (maybe the longest party ever) caused a lot of expectations. At the end, the celebration, like everything else in life, happened faster than the wind and all the talk about it is already gone. We wanted the party to last a bit longer so we asked around for some help, and created our first list. We are happy to present you this list of 60 best/favorite Chinese albums from local music celebrities.
The criteria was totally subjective and attached to luck and the law of whatever will be, will be. The only thing that was not random here was the selection of the people we asked to do this.
We chose nine musicians and one promoter (ten to one should be the amount of musicians to promoters, at the most). Among them there are jazz, electronic, and rock musicians. There are producers, writers, teachers of music, arrangers, and fans. We hope this group is a representative selection of the population of our dear Republic.
We asked each of them to tell us six of their favorite/best Chinese albums. Among the lists you will find that some of these albums actually are not Chinese Chinese Chinese. But that’s how we roll here.
Also, to make it a better experience for obsessive music fans like me, we did a little research on every one of the albums to give you links about the bands and albums. In many cases, the links will take you to sites were you can listen to the complete album. There were some of them that were too old to find out more information, so if you can educate us better, then go on and please do it.
Of course I realized some people could repeat the album that other one mentioned, so technically there are not exactly 60 albums, but those albums that have been mentioned more than once are clearly more relevant, and if you don’t have them in your collection, maybe it is time you do.
Enough talk. Let’s go for it. Dear Sino-Melomaniac audience, I’m proud to introduce you 60 albums to celebrate the Chinese Party. Viva la Republica!!!
Super Sophia, the wise PR, booker, and creative mind from YuYinTang
1.
Artist: Underground Baby 地下婴儿
Abum: Wake Up 觉醒
Year: 1998
They’re one of the early Chinese punk bands (maybe the first Chinese punk band). Lots of Chinese youth got into punk from this album. It’s a landmark of the punk scene in China.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Douban.com Xiami.com
2.
Artist: P.K.14
Album: Go Upstairs and Turn Left 上楼就往左拐
Year: 2001
P.K.14 is one of the best rock bands in China, and people think they’re the best post punk band. It’s their first album, including the songs they wrote from 1997, and those songs are still their best-known songs.
The Artist: Maybemars.com
The Album: Maybemars.com Xiami.com
3.
Artist: Rebuilding the Right of Statues (Re-TROS) 重塑雕像的权利
Abum: Cut Off
Year:2005
They are becoming one of the biggest bands in China. I like their dark style in this album.
The Artist: Re-tros.com Myspace.com
The Album: Douban.com Xiami.com
4.
Artist: Wang Wen 惘闻
Album: IV
Year: 2008
I think they’re the best instrumental band in China. And this is their best album.
The Artist: Douban.com Myspace.com
The Album: Last.fm Xiami.com
5.
Artist: Hedgehog 刺猬
Album: Noise Hit World
Year: 2007
I love the energy from the songs and their catchy melodies.
The Artist: Myspace.com Official blog
The Album: Douban.com
6.
Artist: Subs
Album: Down
Year: 2006
I always get impressed by their live shows, but it’s also a good album to listen to. You can feel that power from the tunes.
The Artist: Last.fm Myspace.com Rockinchina.com Official blog
The Album: Douban.com
SIG is a hell of a beatmaker from Qingdao, now living in Shanghai and working on Udance.com
7.
Artist: Cui Jian 老崔
Album: “Rock n’ Roll on the New Long March” 新长征路上的摇滚
Year: 1988
The godfather of rock n’ roll in China, this album is a mixture of different music styles by using Chinese traditional instruments as well as Western instruments. Cui Jian has brought the underground music culture to the mainstream, and this is what he’s known for.
The Artist: Official blog
The Album: Rockinchina.com
8.
Artist: Dou Wei 窦唯
Album: “Dark Dream” 黑夢
Year: 1994
This album came out when the whole of China was trying to imitate the heavy metal rock style from the West. No one understood this album until 10 years after its release.
The Artist: Douwei.net
The Album: Douban.com 9sky.com
9.
Artist: Dou Wei 窦唯
Album: “Hallucinations” 幻听
Year: 1999
This is a collaboration with ”Bu Yi Ding” They are using the style of post-rock to create an artistic mood in China.
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Rockinchina.com 9sky.com
10.
Artist: Dou Wei 窦唯
Album:”One Stone, Two Birds” 壹举·两得
Year: 2003
Free Jazz? Dou Wei has gone too far…
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Douban.com Xiami.com
11.
Artist: M uMa 木马
Album: ”Mu Ma” 木马
Year: 2000
The sound of sadness and sorrow has started a new music era in China.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com Modernsky.com Douban.com
The Album: Modernsky.com
12.
Artist: Mu Tui Gua
Album: “The Posture of an Insult”
Year: I could not find when this album was released.
Personally, I think this is the most perfect album in China. It contains 3 original songs by Mu Tui Gua, but it’s a shame that they are the only 3 songs they’ve ever released.
The Artist & The Album: Top100.cn
Liman, as his bio says, is “One of the new breed of electronic musicians in China.“
13.
Album: “Kung Fu Hustle Soundtrack” 功夫电影原声大碟
Performed by The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Year: 2004
The Movie: Imdb.com
The Album: Wikipedia.org 1ting.com
14.
Album: “Swordsman 2” Soundtrack 笑傲江湖
Year: 1992
The Movie: Imdb.com
The Album: 1ting.com
15.
Artist: Joseph Koo
Album: “Greatest TV Themes” 顾嘉辉音乐名作
Year: 1984
The Artist: Musicool.cn Wikipedia.org
The Album: Inkui.com
16.
Album: “Ashes of Time” Soundtrack 东邪西毒
Year: 1994
The Movie: Imdb.com
The Album: Xiami.com 1ting.com
17.
Album: The Last Emperor Soundtrack 末代皇帝原声大碟
Year: 1987
The Movie: Imdb.com
The Album: Amazon.com
18.
Album: Once Upon a Time Soundtrack 黄飞鸿原声音乐大碟
Year:1992
The Album: Jet-li.cn
Andy Best is one of the centers of information when it comes to Chinese indie rock. His blog, kungfuology.com, is a classic of Chinese rock literature already.
Andy commented on his list: “This task is both easy and difficult. Easy because most China based indie bands don’t have proper albums, which both narrows it down and also skews it towards Beijing, who have larger labels. Difficult because six will still mean leaving out good records.
It’s controversial to leave out some more prolific recording artists such as PK-14 but the final deciding factor was based on what I still listen to down the line without thinking about it too much.”
19.
Artist: Subs
Album: Down
Year: 2006 (Self Published)
Subs have done three CDs, all good, and this was the second one. Standout track: “Down”
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Rockinchina.com
20.
Artist: Lava/Ox/Sea
Album: Next Episode: Lord Smart vs Dr. Jin” (Miniless Records)
Year: 2009
The cream of the Miniless stable and the Shanghai based experimental scene. Standout track: “Vertigo”
The Artist: Myspace.com Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
21.
Artist: Hedgehog 刺猬
Album: “Noise Hit World” (Modern Sky)
Year: 2007
Their latest, Blue Daydreaming, is arguably better but this album marked their explosion onto the scene. It is their second out of three albums, the first being Happy Idle Kid. Standout track: “Toys and Children’s Day”
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
22.
Artist: Ourself Beside Me
Album: “Ourself Beside Me” (Maybe Mars)
Year: 2009
A lot of good releases to choose from out of the Maybe Mars stable, but I find myself listening to this album more than the Carsick Cars debut. The CD perfectly captures the band’s creative vision. Standout track: “Sunday Girl”
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Band: Xiami.com
23.
Artist: Boys Climbing Ropes
Band: “A Pleasure To Be Here” (Self Published)
Year: 2008
A low-key Shanghai band who also helped bring Little Punk’s famed persona to the stage. The CD brings the intelligence of the band’s music to life. Standout track: “Dirty Bots”
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Xiami.com
24.
Artist: Joyside
Album: “Drunk Is Beautiful” (Modern Sky)
Year: 2004
Out in 2004, it kick started the post-SARS era. Captures that Beijing scene punk feel thing that people are always going on about. Standout track: “Sunday Morning”
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Xiami.com
B6 is a great producer and musician for electronic music in Shanghai.
B6 commented about his list “All of these are true albums from China. Taiwan, Hong Kong can go to hell.”
25.
Album: Once Upon a Time Soundtrack
Artist:Di Huimin, Xiu-Yan Zhang 翟惠民、张秀艳
Year: 1998
This awesome album is not “chi zhi qiang’s”
The Album: Baidu.com
26.
Album: Journey to the West OST (Old Version) 西游记OST(老版)
Personally, I believe that after the reform and open policy the entire Chinese music world attains its best work, and nobody has been able to exceed it yet.
The Movie: Sohu.com
The Album: Verycd.com
27.
Artist: Cui Jian 崔健
Album: “Nothing Chinese Rock and Roll Music” 一无所有
Year:1989
Chinese rock music, the only one in the audience on the status of a decent album.
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Douban.com Wikipedia.org
28.
Artist: Liu H & Deng Jie Yi 刘鸿 & 邓洁仪
Album: 87 Fever – 87 狂热
Year: 1987
Chinese dance music, nobody has made it better yet.
The Album: Inkui.com
29.
Artist : Zhou Feng 周峰
Album: Eye of the Charm 眼之魅
Year: 1985
Because the dim light of night is waning, and there’s a monsoon. This album has two songs.
The Album: Qq.com
30.
Artist: Zhang Qiang 张蔷
Album: Golden Dreams 金色梦幻
Year: 1986
I think she was hot.
The Album: Mtvtop.net
Han Han, clever leader of Miniless Records and bands such as Lava Ox Sea and Duck Fight Goose.
31.
Artist: Muscle Snog
Album: Mind Shop
Year: 2009
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Rockinchina.com
32.
Artist: PK14
Album: City Weather Sailing
Year: 2008
The Artist: Myspace.com
The Album: Amazon.com
33.
Artist: Zuo Xiao Zu Zhou
Album: “The Missing Master” “走失的主人 “
Year:1998
The Artist: Official blog
The Album: Rockinchina.com
34.
Artist: The Fly
Album: “Fallen Love”
Year: 1998
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Douban.com Msgprodiction.com
35.
Artist: Flies
Album: The Fly 2
Year: 2000
The Album: Douban.com
36.
Artist: The Fly
Album: The fly
Year: 1997
The Album: Douban.com
Erica Lee is a great singer of jazz, soul, folk, and pop music. She is usually performing at JZ, and soon she will release her long-awaited album.
37.
Artist: Faye Wong王菲
Album: “Restless” 浮躁
Year: 1996
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wikipedia.org 1ting.com
38.
Artist: Khalil Fong
Album: “This Love” 爱爱爱
Year: 2006
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: 1ting.com Last.fm
39.
Aritst:. Karen Mok
Album: “Karen Mok on the Twelfth Floor “ 十二楼的莫文蔚
Year: 2000
The Artist: Wikipedia.org Official blog
The Album: 1ting.com
40.
Artist: Anita Nui 梅艳芳 烈
Album:”Flaming Red lips” 焰红唇
Year:1987
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: 1ting.com
41.
Artist: Chang Shi Lei
Album: “Niu China” After New China – 80 Red Classic
Year:2009
The Album: 1ting.com
42.
Artist: David Wong
Album: “ 让每个人都心碎”
Year:1990
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: 1ting.com
Peng Fei is a talented violin player, composer, and arranger. Usually you can find him on JZ’s stage with his white electric violin, making great performances along with his band, The Possicobilities, and some of the other bands passing by JZ’s stage.
43.
Artist: Sandy Lam
Album: “Faces and Places”
Year: 1990
She is from Hong Kong and this album has a very good production. This album lead Hongkongnese music to another level.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wayango.com
44.
Artist: Sandy Lam
Album:” Come Back to Love”
Year:1992
This is from a similar period from the one before, but then they tried with different styles of music. During these years, the music market was much bigger and peoplewere trying to push music in more interesting ways.
The Artist: Fans blog
The Album: Wayango.com
45.
Artist: Jonathan Lee 李宗盛
Album: “Can’t Give Up” 不舍
Year: 1994
He is the best lyrics writer in the history of Chinese pop music, though not the best singer. The arrangers for this album did great work with these songs too.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wayango.com
46.
Artist: Kay Huang 黃韻玲
Album “Be my Friend” 做我的朋友
Year: 1993
This is one of her first albums. She studied music in Berkley, and this album was recorded in the States by the time she was finishing her studies and beginning to take her career on. She prepared many years for this album, and it reflects very well the music style of this time. It’s a bit like fusion and jazz, not very commercial really.
The Artist: D-addicts.com
The Album: Wayango.com
47.
Artist: Zhao Jiping 赵季平
Album: “Electric Shadows”
Year: 2000
He is one of the soundtrack composers for the movies of 张艺谋 (Zhang Yimou). And this is one of his best compositions. Performed by the China Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus. It’s a very Chinese style, if anyone likes Chinese music they should get this album. His music has very strong sounds. He is a professor in the Shanghai Conservatory, his music is more like from the style of the north of China, it’s even a bit brutal, but it’s a very different expression of music. By the way, this is an album to learn about the proper combination of Chinese instruments in an orchestra.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Filmtracks.com Wayango.com
48.
Artist: Faye Wong 王菲
Album: “Fable”
Year: 2000
Here are the most famous songs, at least those I like. I think the producer of this album is one of the most famous in China, and this is maybe his best done one. I think on this album she formed her style and her name, as it is today.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wikipedia.org Wayango.com
Feng Hao is drumming and jamming jazz around the best places for jazz in Shanghai, and once in a while you’ll find him playing with his free jazz band The Blue Koi Collective.
Feng said about his list “I love all the Chinese mainland music from the 80s to 90s. That is a special time for China. Almost all of this music was written for the Communist government. It’s ugly, but also very true, because this is the only music for Chinese people at that time. Those musicians are all dead now, but they are great musicians. They lived in the wrong age.”
49.
Artist: Mark Bai 白天
Album:First trio+quintet album
Year: 2008
It’s the best contemporary original Chinese jazz musician’s music. The highest level of Chinese jazz!
The Artist: Myspace.com
50.
Artist: Little Tiger 小虎队
Album: Happy new year 新年快乐(忧欢派对)
Year: 1989
Xiao Hu Dui is a boy group. Its probably the first music album I ever heard in my life, 1989-1990, vintage and hopeful. Enough said!
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wayango.com
51.
Artist: Loudspeaker 扩音器
Album: Demo
Year: 1999
My favorite punk trio band, although they changed now, but this tape gave me a lot of hope and energy. It also made me determined to be a musician.
The Artist: Myspace.com Rockinchina.com
52.
Artist: Teresa Teng 邓丽君
Album: Best collection
Year: 1992
She is the first pop singer from the Taiwan Republic, which also effected a lot of those pop music industry of China Mainland for a long time. A lot of her music was arranged by Japanese arrangers, so its really brilliant, and, for Chinese people, Teresa means vintage, classic beauty, so I love her music. It’s warm and romantic, the Chinese way.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Wayango.com
53.
Artist: Sally Yeh 叶倩文
Album: Face to face 面对面
Year: 1989
She is my favorite Honkongnese female pop singer. Her music is also from the 80s. Warm and a bit sad, it makes me remember my childhood. This album includes her famous song, Qian Zui Yi Sheng. That’s the song of hers I liked best.
The Artist: wikipedia.org
The Album: 1ting.com
54.
Artist: Zhang Chu 张楚
Album: Aeroplane Factory 造飞机的工厂
Year: 1997
I remember I had a very bad year, almost eight years ago. I listened to the whole album about one thousand times. Everyday it just kept me going. It’s something like a pop folk rock mix.
The Artist: Wikipedia.org
The Album: Douban.com
Lucky is the fortunate and talented AV Okubo drummer.
55.
Artist: Voodoo Kungfu
Album: Voodoo Kungfu
Year: 2008
This is full national metal. Live, it also has a strong visual impact, like hearing double.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
56.
Artist: Hua Lun 花伦
Album: Silver Daydream
Year: 2008
This is one of the best Chinese post-rock bands. It reaches your heart’s core.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
57.
Artist: Rebuilding the Right of Statues (Re-Tros) 重塑雕像的权利
Album: Watch Out Climate has Changed, Fat Mum Rises
Year: 2009
Serious and orthodox post-punk, the absolute big style.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
58.
Artist: Carsick Cars
Album: “Carsick Cars”
Year: 2007
Unexpected guitar art.
The Artist: Official website Rockinchina.com
The Album: Xiami.com
59.
Artist: Flying Fruit (aka Yu Guo) 羽果
Album: 巴别塔-
Year: 2009
Beautiful melodies and the CD sounds like it’s live.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: 9sky.com Xiami.com
60.
Artist: AV Okubo Av大久保
Album: Great Era 大时代-
Year: not released yet
Great band. The album features story songs and totally rocks.
The Artist: Rockinchina.com
The Album: (Mache’s note) This album has been long-awaited and it’s still not out. And I accepted it on Lucky’s list of albums because I totally dig them and I’m hoping the album will be worth it to join this and many other lists of the best of China. Always hope for music.
tags: Andy Best - Anita Nui - AV Okubo - B6 - Carsick Cars - Chang Shi Lei - China - Chinese Soundtracks - Cui Jian - David Wong - Dou Wei - Electronic - Erica Lee - Faye Wong - Feng Hao - Han Han - Hedgehog - Jazz - Joseph Koo - Joyside - Karen Mok - Khalil Fong - Lava|Ox|Sea - Liman - Liu H & Deng Jie Y - Lucky - Mark Bai - Ourself Beside Me - P.K. 14 - Peng Fei - Re-tros - Rock - Sandy Lam - Sig - Subs - Super Sophia - The Fly - Voodoo Kungfu - Zhang Chu
Andy Best seems to have a knack for following his principles and then following through. Recently he decided to get involved in PETA and start a no-fur campaign here in Shanghai. He arranged a “revealing” photo shoot with designer Kaine Love and members of Candy Shop (nice ribs, Andy) and set up a show at Yuyintang to promote the cause. The photos were shot by photographer Tim Franco in a studio provided by local promoters Splitworks. Here you have the essence of grassroots initiatives, community activism, DIY – whatever you want to call it. And now it has garnered some international attention.
