World Music: Cui Jian, "Mr. Red"
Cui Jian is a Beijing-based Korean Chinese singer-songwriter, trumpeter and guitarist. Affectionately called "Old Cui"(he was born August 2, 1961), he is considered to be a pioneer in Chinese rock music and one of the first Chinese artists to write rock songs. For this distinction Cui Jian is also labeled "The Father of Chinese Rock." Cui Jian often used communist themes in a satirical way and was banned from performing in China after his role in performing for students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Some have pointed to the communist title and imagery in "Mr. Red" as another satirical attack on China's Communist Party...and certainly the lines "If love is at stake, what the f--k is a song, If life is at stake, what the f--k is love" are thought provoking. But the rest of the lyric reads far more tamely; that the pursuit of love is an irresistable instinct.
Cui Jian is a Beijing-based Korean Chinese singer-songwriter, trumpeter and guitarist. Affectionately called "Old Cui"(he was born August 2, 1961), he is considered to be a pioneer in Chinese rock music and one of the first Chinese artists to write rock songs. For this distinction Cui Jian is also labeled "The Father of Chinese Rock." Cui Jian often used communist themes in a satirical way and was banned from performing in China after his role in performing for students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Some have pointed to the communist title and imagery in "Mr. Red" as another satirical attack on China's Communist Party...and certainly the lines "If love is at stake, what the f--k is a song, If life is at stake, what the f--k is love" are thought provoking. But the rest of the lyric reads far more tamely; that the pursuit of love is an irresistable instinct.
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World Music: Cui Jian, "Mr. Red"
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