Chapter 21: Can't See Yang Qian in Ergu Thatched Cottage? (2/2 Ask for a monthly ticket)
"Brother Du, is my voice not suitable for singing such a song?"
Du Xun had never heard the original song, but Yang Qian had, and after practicing it ten times, he also unlocked other cover versions. After listening to so many versions, Yang Qian himself discovered a problem.
The singers who sing this song are basically singers with prominent bass and magnetic voices!
Although this song cannot be considered a bass song in the strict sense, like the original singer, the voice is extremely magnetic and penetrating. The high energy can go up and the low energy can go down, making it very contagious when sung.
Yang Qian can't do it, at least he can't do it now. His voice can barely sing high notes, but it can't sing low notes. It's not thick enough and has no magnetism.
"I think it's not the bass that's the problem, it's that your voice lacks a sense of age, or vicissitudes of life!"
After listening to Yang Qian's self-analysis, Du Xun finally clarified his thoughts and realized that there was something missing in Yang Qian's song.
"What you want to express in this song is the emotion of people running around, caring about and recognizing their hometown. The lyrics describe it very well, 'people are running around for life,' right?"
"But in your singing, this sense of vicissitudes of life is indeed not reflected, or it is relatively thin. However, it is not difficult to understand that you are still young now, you have just graduated from college, and you have returned to work in your hometown, so you have lost a little experience.
"
Du Xun does not doubt Yang Qian's ability to write lyrics. He is not as active in thinking as Yang Shihan and likes to fill in his head.
When he was in Beipiao, Du Xun knew that many times when a creator writes a song, the lyrics may not necessarily describe his own experience.
Just like the teacher Chen who wrote "Paris" and "Turkey", she had never been to these places before she wrote that fresh, charming, romantic song, which was even more popular than herself.
The inspiration just came from my imagination while riding a motorcycle one day! (Note 1)
It is not difficult to understand that Yang Qian could write a song like "Keep the Roots". When Du Xun chatted with him, he knew that as a reporter, he often had to travel to the countryside.
Perhaps the inspiration for this song came from an interviewee who also encountered obstacles everywhere in a big city, but finally returned to his hometown to work hard in farming?
Du Xun didn't ask too much and didn't care.
But songwriting and singing are two different things. Songwriters can use their imagination, but singers have to sing out the imagination of irresponsible creators.
Therefore, in "Keep the Roots", Yang Qian's singing really lacked a bit of warmth, and this intensity cannot be made up by technique, it requires time and experience to settle!
Or, if you smoke a few packs of cigarettes a day, the vicissitudes of life will come...
Of course, Du Xun would not make such nonsensical suggestions to Yang Qian. He was just in the recording studio. After expressing his feelings, the final decision of whether to continue recording was left to Yang Qian himself.
"Brother Du, why don't you come and try?"
Yang Qian thought about it and turned his attention to Du Xun.
Du Ge's experience is rich enough, and it fits the content of this song very well. Maybe he can sing with such a feeling?
"I can't. My voice is thinner than yours. I can't sing this song! This is what I sing at my wife's place..."
Du Xun demonstrated an English song to Yang Qian on the spot.
Don't tell me, I usually can't feel it when I speak, but when Du Xun sings, his voice is really thin!
Yang Qian had heard this English song before. He had listened to the female singer's version before, but Du Ge actually sang it as tenderly as water, with a bit of blues, delicate and moving!
No wonder it can be sung in a Western restaurant. The sound paired with these songs is perfect for such a bourgeois environment.
"Brother Du, with your voice, if you participate in Good Singing, I feel like you could win an award!"
Yang Qian was also impressed by Du Xun's voice quality and praised him enviously.
If he has such a high pitch level, why should he worry about not being able to sing the song "First Time"?
"I can't help it. When I came back from the capital, auditions for Good Singers had just started. Who knew it could be so popular?"
"But this show, even if you win the championship, it's useless. After watching it for so many years, how many of them can become popular? Or does it depend on your reputation?"
"These days, you can't get ahead just by singing well. Look at those internet celebrities. Whether they sing really well is another matter. Their makeup is more exquisite than the last one!"
"Brother Yang, you're lucky. You have the foundation and you can still write your own songs. If you work hard, you can still be popular!"
More than ten years ago, when the Chinese music scene was still struggling, Du Xun had no chance to get ahead, and Du Xun has no hope for this era.
"Although I say that, people who sing well shouldn't be buried. Brother Du, don't you want more people to hear your voice?"
Yang Qian felt a little uncomfortable listening to it. Although he didn't know whether Du Xun could really sing with a voice like that, he always felt very sorry.
Du Xun knew what Yang Qian meant. In the years when Good Singing was the most popular, his friends also teased him and asked him why he didn't give it a try.
But Du Xun had a clear mind and was not fooled by the chicken soup edited on TV.
"Don't TV programs always shout dreams, dreams? In fact, they don't care what dreams you have? All they care about is your story."
"When there is no use value anymore, they will be abandoned and a new group of people will come in. Who cares about those children who once impressed people with their singing? Who cares whether they are eager to be cultivated?"
"What is a dream? Can it be eaten as food? What's more, you, Brother Du, have a figure like mine and can eat a lot, so don't talk about dreams anymore."
Du Xun is old, sees things very clearly, and is not afraid to make fun of himself.
Perhaps this is indeed the case. For many musicians with good potential, they can no longer go down the path of simply making music, and they naturally have no reason to persist.
There are thousands of possibilities in life, and you don’t have to hang yourself from a tree.
So, why should we cling to our dreams?
…
Just when Yang Qian felt heavy because of what Du Xun said, and later continued to record the demo of "Keep the Roots" for the director to listen to, but found some state of mind, another "fool" who had never forgotten his music dream finally found his way.
Arrived in Hecheng.
"I'm off the plane!"
The flight from Shanghai to Hecheng took nearly three hours. Dai Yuni sent Zhang Xiaowen a WeChat message to report that she was safe. When she walked out of the airport, it was already past five o'clock!
The sky was still bright, so she hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take her to the Dutch TV station.
It didn't take much time on the way, and the taxi drove pretty fast. Dai Yuni arrived at the door of Hecheng TV Station around 5:30.
"For what?"
The grumpy janitor looked up and saw someone peeping in front of the driveway gate pole, and gave a loud shout.
"Oh, uncle, I'm looking for one of your reporters. His name is Yang Qian."
Dai Yuni was also shocked by him. Fortunately, she had a good psychological quality. After she came to her senses, she quickly explained.
"Yang what? There is no such person."
Yang Qian had only been here a few months, and he followed Ouyang Cheng to the countryside every day. It was normal for the gatekeeper not to recognize him.
But even if he knows each other, he can't let outsiders in easily!
This girl is quite beautiful, but your uncle is still your uncle, and you can't get enough of it.
"No, uncle, he is really a reporter from our Hecheng TV station. This is a video of his interview, sent by Hecheng TV station."
Dai Yuni was anxious and picked up her phone to show the other party.
The janitor took a closer look and saw that it was true, but he had no impression of this young man. He was not a department leader, he was probably just a young reporter.
"It's been a holiday for the past two days, and there's no one in the Information Department. If you want to find someone, come back on Monday."
"No, uncle, I'm from Shanghai. I can't wait until next Monday. Do you have his phone number? Can you contact him for me?"
"No, no, the car is coming, please get out of the way."
The caretaker waved his hand and signaled Dai Yuni to go away quickly and not stay here blocking other people's driveways.
Actually, it’s not that there’s no one there. The News Department still has people on duty on weekends.
But at this moment, the gatekeeper thought that Dai Yuni had come all the way to trouble Yang Qian. After all, young people these days have quite a lot of emotional disputes.
He was afraid that causing trouble would end poorly for his boss and that he would be implicated, so he just made excuses to send Dai Yuni away.
(Note 1: Who do you think Teacher Chen is that Xiaohan is talking about? Of course, there is no Teacher Chen in the parallel world.)