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Cui Jian / 崔健 - Nothing To My Name (1986)

#music #china #chinese rock #cui jian #80’s #80s music #80s rock #rock #Youtube #music recs #live music photography

2010 Paris

#2010 #Paris #cui jian #curtain #photography #original photographers #color photography #pierre wayser

I can’t remember why and how I came about Cui Jian’s name. Probably some late night boredom got me to google about China’s rock culture, only to find out it had barely started in 1986, a year before I was born, and it had one absolute anthem, which was happily sang at Tiananmen Square in 1989, on the same day that ended with a historic act of repression against the democratic sentiment. All of this piqued my interested.

I’m not equipped to piece together a more grounded understanding of the situation at the time, but I can safely attest to the cathartic power of this song and much of Cui Jian’s ouvre. His rugged voice, the mix of rock and classical chinese sounds, the melodic progression from melancholy, to frustrated rage, to liberated joy. It fulfills what is, to me, rock’s main purpose, which is to channel rage and frustration into heartfelt music. Put that into context and it’s not hard to understand the power of this first true hit of rock prowess from China.

I’ve never been repressed by a communist regime and it still sends shivers down my spine. Rock on, Jian-man.