Unit 2: Lesson 4

Old meets New in Chinese Rock and Roll

In the interview with Alex, his hopes were for achieving a "meaningful job" in China. His desire to take back his knowledge of computer science is admirable. I'm not sure "rock and roller" fits into the concept of 'meaningful jobs', but it does by the standards of the following two artist. Each has a different generation of young followers.

Cui Jian, "godfather of Chinese Rock and Roll", musical career began as a trumpeter for the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. He has been deemed "China's most prominent musicians" in the article "Cui Jian: China's Rock Rebel". He arrived on the rock scene during the volatile 80's. His song "Nothing to my Name" became the theme song of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

A self described "troublemaker", Cui explains, "That doesn't mean making trouble, it means discovering a new way to solve problems. The biggest problem is that nobody is telling the truth - but rock musicians do."

Cui vows that his music is not politically based, however, his concerts have been cancelled due to "direct expression of political dissent" (Blum/Jenson 294)

With this philosophy, Cui has loudly voiced his dislike of lip syncing. Fans hope that Cui will perform at the 2008 Olympics. Critics say this is unlikely largely due to the fact that the performances are expected to be lip-synced.

In contrast a new band, named 20088, has emerged on the rock scene. It is composed of four seven-year olds. They aspire to play at the opening of the Beijing Olympics.


"Our band's biggest dram is to perform on the Olympic stage and cheer for China," said bass player Li Bochen in the article "Eight-year-old rockers aim for Olympic glory".

Instead of studying for the college exams, these kids pratice their music for four to five hours a day. They began playing at age three.

Both Cui and 20088 are rockers by trade. However, they differ in approach. It seems Cui was more interested in the message of his music. 20088 seems to be interested in self recognition. This seems to reflect the generation divide and the followings they have.


Works Cited in addition to article/books noted:

"Return of the Godfather"
"Rock band 20088 ready for Olympics"