"Alternative Music" in Mandarin
Julesong
February 29, 2008, 08:22 PM posted in General DiscussionI thought it might be a good idea to start a separate thread on this topic, since I've been talking about it in other threads.
Although I enjoy classical Chinese music, and occasionally pop, my real interest is to find listen-able music in other genres. So when I find such artists that use Mandarin in their music, I'll post them here so we can all share. :)
One type of music that I seek out is something I call "Chinese Fusion Folk" or "Asian Fusion Folk" - a blend of Chinese and American folk or country western. It might sound like a weird combination, but it works surprisingly well!
A good example of this is Abigail Washburn, who lived in China for a few years. She occasionally sings in Mandarin: http://tinyurl.com/yt423x
Check out the song "The Lost Lamb". Wonderful voice! And she's able to do amazing things with her banjo, producing sounds you wouldn't believe from that old hillbilly instrument. She makes banjo beautiful!
She also sings/sang with a group called Uncle Earl. Check out "Streak o' Lean, Streak o' Fat" on this CD:
http://tinyurl.com/ysbhzs aka "Péi Gēn," myself. :)
Bela Fleck (a well-known and outstanding banjo player who Abigail has played with) also has a few pieces which mix Asian style with folk.
Greg Edmonson, composer of the "Firefly" soundtrack, is very good at mixing genres. You can hear the Asian influence throughout his music for the show. http://tinyurl.com/yqpm6n He's also a friend of mine - a really nice man. :)
I also enjoy the blues when mixed with Mandarin, and there are a couple of examples of that on the CD "Blues in Asia." http://tinyurl.com/2a4j7t
There are also the Chinese classics from the early 1900s that are a lot of fun to add into your playlists, like "Famous Chinese Musicians: Zhou Xuan" - take a listen to "Night Life in Shanghai" http://tinyurl.com/yt4ktk
I'd love to hear from others that have found enjoyable Mandarin music in unusual genres!
bazza
March 08, 2008, 11:42 AMI'm still searching for Chinese Hardcore. ;)
Julesong
February 29, 2008, 09:05 PMSorry, forgot to post where the lyrics came from... http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/uncle-earl/streak-o-lean-streak-o-fat-20792.html
frank
February 29, 2008, 10:54 PMYou're friends with Greg Edmonson?! Please pass along my thanks for his work. I'm a fan.
Julesong
February 29, 2008, 10:59 PMYep - he's helped me find music for Can't Take the Sky Radio (http://tinyurl.com/3anfre - free to listen!), and with getting submissions for the Big Damn Chefs cookbook (http://www.BigDamnChefs.com) from cast and crew. I was privileged to go over and have pizza and drinks with he and his wife when I was down in LA in December - such a neat guy! I'll pass along your thanks! :)
phil
March 01, 2008, 04:33 AMhi julesong, i think you will find an outfit called Cold Fairyland, a Chinese band from Shanghai, may meet your requirements of Chinese and Fusion. They were highly recommended by the legendary Aric and appeared on a Saturday Show a long time ago. Their website is here http://www.miyadudu.com/english/index.htm where you can listen/download a few samples. I am yet to discover a CD here in Changchun but I see that they may be ordered online. Since I shall soon be relocating to Beijing I am hoping to catch up with them live somewhere soon
patp
March 01, 2008, 11:57 AMHey, what I do in my ipod between chinesepod I put chinese music between every other podcast to break up the lessons so I do not burn out, my fav singer is Deng li jun god bless her, here is a link to a site where you can get some good tunes one that applies here I think is "Jiu Meng He Chu Xun" check it out at http://teresateng.org/Songs.html they are all free downloads cheers Pat.
brokenwindow
March 01, 2008, 03:21 PMSpeaking of "alternative music" - I've forever been trying to find Chinese metal, industrial or rock music. Any suggestions? I'd really appreciate your help.
lostinasia
March 01, 2008, 04:04 PMYou could do worse than the Rough Guide: China CD. Typically of Rough Guide, it mixes traditional with pretty modern stuff. (Their Japan CD, which is EXCELLENT--whereas the China one is merely good--guided me to Jin Jin, mentioned above). http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-Music-Various-Artists/dp/B0000AQORM Actually, if a local bookstore has a copy of Rough Guide's world music reference volume, it'd be good for a perusal. It has... oh my goodness... 26 pages about Chinese music. (I really should read that one day.) Just DON'T ask local university students. OK, a few have good taste, but in general Bon Jovi--shudder--is about as exotic as you're going to get. What's weird is how many wear Sex Pistols or Nirvana shirts, but have never even heard of those bands. Meanwhile, Broken Social Scene is coming to Taipei and I'm trying to decide if it's worth about $90US for a ticket. The show's in a mid-sized club.
lostinasia
March 01, 2008, 04:13 PMOh yeah, off the Rough Guide: China CD, I guess the song "I want to go home / Wo Yao Hui Jia", by Bai Hong (you can hear part of it at the Amazon link above) is an example of the Asian Fusion Folk described in the thread-starter. Until today, mind you, I had no idea that was actually a trend. I wish I had my liner notes for that CD available, but unfortunately they're on another continent.
Julesong
February 29, 2008, 09:04 PMI found a translation of "Streak O' Lean, Streak O' Fat" - fun! I don't know how accurate it is, but it amusing all the same... What would an accurate title translation of "Braised fatty meat" be? Not "Péi Gēn" (bacon), after all. "Hongshao Rou" in what tones? Huáng 黄 Shāo 烧 Ròu 肉? 红烧肉 Hóng Shāo Ròu? ---------------------------------------------------- ** Streak O' Lean, Streak O' Fat ** Abigail Washburn, Jon Campbell, Uncle Earl Hongshao rou Braised fatty meat You ren xhuan, you ren shou “No!” Some people like it, some say “No!” Wo, wo ri’ai hongshao rou I love me some braised fatty beef Ye bie wan le he xiao jiu And don’t forget to drink a little liquor Yi bei, yi bei he zui lou Cup by cup we all get drunk Oh, tiaowu tiao dao da tian liang Dance til the break of day Ta tiao de xiang ge feng poniang She dances like a crazy mother in law Ta zhen niu She’s freakin' crazy Ta qinkaui de yaoming you She plays that thing like she’s starting a revolution Kuai lai yi wan hongshao rou Bring on the braised fatty pork Dan bie wan le he xiao jiu And don’t forget the liquor Yi bei, yi bei he zui lou Cup by cup we all get drunk Xiang zheyang zenme huoxia qu Living like this, how can we go on? Jinzhao he jiu jinzhao zui Today we drink, today we're wasted Hongsho rou wan sui Long live braised fatty meat!
Julesong
March 06, 2008, 04:22 AMAnybody find any Chinese country western for me? *grin*
Joachim
March 06, 2008, 05:48 AMYou might look at some of the things that Cui Jian did. They sometimes sound like country western to me. If from China, shouldn't it be country eastern, then? ;-)
Joachim
March 06, 2008, 05:52 AMbrokenwindow: Try http://www.rockinchina.com/ for Chinese rock, metal etc. dragonradio.hk also features rock music.
Julesong
March 06, 2008, 05:42 PMNot so much looking for rock music, myself. I'm sure others will appreciate the reference, though! Hmm... need to find somewhere online to hear Cui Jian's music. None of the Amazon pages have samples of the music...
Joachim
March 08, 2008, 06:54 AMjulesong: Try Cui Jian's own website http://cuijian.com/ or go to baidu.com which - as a search engine - references almost everything in (Chinese) music as mp3.
Joachim
March 08, 2008, 07:00 AMHere is a direct link to a song from Cui Jians website: http://cuijian.com/CHINESE/Media/20070622/xinchangzheng.mp3
Joachim
March 08, 2008, 07:16 AMYou might like 春秋乐队, too. Try the song 山海间 (video link: http://video.baidu.com/p?word=%C9%BD%BA%A3%BC%E4&pos=1&s=3)
laorui
March 08, 2008, 07:42 AMjulesong, Have you listened to "Zero Point Band"? Not really country but not far off. One of their better known songs was 爱不爱我。Here is a link that should work. If not, Baidu will find it. http://58.52.129.129/wlfw/ysyy/abaw.mp3 Let me know what you think.
Julesong
March 01, 2008, 07:51 PMPhil - thanks for Cold Fairyland! I do like their sound. Not quite the folk sound I'm still looking for, but good for listening to for everyday stuff. :) Pat - went to the site, and unfortunately their server isn't answering when I try to download any of the songs. :( LostInAsia - thanks for pointing the way to the "Rough Guide" CDs, as I hadn't seen them before! I do want to get ahold of the Chinese one. You might want to check out some of the links I provided above to Abigail Washburn. The folk mixed with Mandarin is really nice. :)
Julesong
February 29, 2008, 08:51 PMAlthough not Chinese, I really like Agatsuma's song "On Bourbon St." which is on his CD "Beams" http://tinyurl.com/ypofrb And Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman's song "Jin Jin" and some of the others on the CD also called "Jin Jin" are fun, although the skill in some of the singing might be called to question. ;) http://tinyurl.com/ywsoyh Bob Brozman's other Asian collaborations are interesting, too. http://tinyurl.com/ywsoyh