I well remember walking into a small family restaurant in Shenzhen. They were playing “Christian Rock”. I’ve got to tell you all, I was astounded. It just isn’t something that you hear every day. Not in the USA, and most certainly not in China, of all places.
So I asked the woman there why she was listening to Christian Rock. (My wife asked her, as my Chinese wasn’t anywhere near competent.) And she smiled, and told my wife that the music spoke to her.
The Christian Rock music spoke to her.
China is a very conservative nation that holds traditional Chinese values in the highest regard. In fact, that is one of the many things that astounded me about China. When they threw away the tenets of Communism back in the 1970’s, they embraced full-on conservative values.
Now, as such, the Chinese has a full affinity to American conservatives… Conservatives mind you, not the NeoCon’s who see every war as a money-making opportunity to line their pockets through the deaths of others. Hello? John McCain, Hillary Clinton, George Bush… anyone?
The Chinese people love American music.
I like to think that the reason is because there are some awesome talent in the Untied States. I think that people all over the world can recognize this talent, and America is most certainly the home of some of the best music in the world.
Anyways, the Chinese love American Country and Western music, and many a night has been spent with myself belting out some Conway Twitty, and George Jones. (Heck, in my mind the best Country and Western music came from the 1980’s, and the 1990’s.But, that’s just me. Heh heh.)
Here is an American Country and Western song that is HYPER popular in China. You all should see my rendition of it after a few bottles of whiskey. Heh heh.
(Oh, and by the way, the Chinese girls think that an American singing Country and Western, or Pop music is like a “God”, the way they look at you. You guys have no idea… None what so ever.)
Country & Western style music is popular.
The Chinese have their own versions of Country and Western music. However, unlike the West or in America, it is not stratified or segregated into different musical genres. The music, to me, sounds like it is all mixed together.
If you listen to a music station on the radio, like in a taxi, for instance, the music will all be mixed together. Suppose it is July. It is hot out, and the A/C is on in the car, and the radio is on. You can hear the songs, as well as the GPS navigate the route in Chinese.
The songs would include everything from long DJ smashed up-songs to American Christmas carols. Yep. That’s true, as any American expat can attest to. (Ah, I well remember the first time I heard Jingle Bells played during a hot August night by a house band in a bar.) The music would include everything from sappy Chinese love ballads, to Chinese disco, to traditional nursery rhymes and even American 1960’s War Protest songs (“Who’ll stop the rain?“)
And you can see the influence that Country and Western music has made on the Chinese music scene here. All you need to do is have an open mind and an ear for music. The American Country and Western musical influence is everywhere. From the cities to the rural countrysides.
And, I’m not just talking Taylor Swift here, guys…
Songs that are slower and easy to sing are the best. You know, the Chinese don’t care at all if you can hold a note, or sing on-key. What they care about is [1] if you are having a good time, [2] that you can put some kind of emotion into the songs when you are singing them, and [3] if you enjoy singing the songs.
Slow songs vs. Fast songs
Just be careful, or else you might end up singing some impossibly fast American songs that will be near impossible to sing. Don’t let that happen. I always keep a small list of my favorite songs that I can sing in KTV’s on me, in my wallet. You never know when you have the opportunity to play at a KTV, I’ll tell you what.
You can tell that these songs are all easily lent towards singing at a KTV while drunk…or sad. Heh heh. When you have an opportunity to sing with some Chinese friends, please heed my advice and take it. It’s a great way to make friends, and a fantastic waste of time, eating and drinking and smoking.
Life is meant to be lived.
Life is too short. Live it.
Over time, you will see loved ones pass on, or go away. You will see friends come and go. You will see seasons pass, and unless you are careful, it all might just pass you by. Don’t allow that to happen. Live life well. Heck! Live it very well.
One of the things about China, well – Heck, all of Asia is how prevalent American music is. It can be found everywhere. It can be found on-line, played on the radio stations, and in the bars and clubs. It goes without saying that you can most certainly hear American music in China. Though the song types and style might be different. In China, an A-listed American song might actually be a C-listed airplay song in the USA.
Asian Advertisement.
Here’s an example of an advertisement for beer in Japan. Today, the video advertisements are really great to watch. Many times they like to use music to drive a point across. Check it out…
By the way, those little balls that she is eating are popular all over Asia. You can buy them all over China. They are fried octopus balls. The octopus tentacles are mixed with a kind of bread dough, and deep-fried and covered with this thin kind of shavings.
It’s pretty good. You all should try it. Oh, and you know… it goes great with beer. Especially icy cold beer.
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