Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 644: The st Century, When We Were Still Young
Just as Chris had expected, before Coldplay started singing their last song, fans began to flock to the Dian stage, vying for the front row seats.

After the performance, they hurriedly took their bows, swiped their performance certificates, and quickly came to the isolation area under the Yunnan stage through the passage.

It would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that all the performers were here, but except for Xie Xinyan and Lion Rock who had to prepare for the show, 99% of the other bands were present.

Looking at the isolation zone that was just as crowded as the normal audience area, a security guard couldn't help but mutter, "What's the need for isolation here..."

The captain who was nearby gave him a stunned look and the young man immediately shut up.

For this special security job, this guy named Song Jiang really likes it. Others have to pay to come and squeeze in with the crowd, but he doesn't have to spend money and can even get paid. The key is that he doesn't have to squeeze in with the fans and can always stand closest to the stage.

If there's anything bad about it, it's probably that most of the time you can't see the stage, and you can only have a deadpan face and watch the fans having fun.

But with the somewhat chaotic scene in the quarantine area today, he felt that it should be okay to be a little self-centered.

And the band that will be performing on stage is his favorite band Hedgehog! It may not be accurate to say that he likes Hedgehog. It should be more accurate to say that he likes Hedgehog's songs.

He is neither a rock fan nor a music lover. For him, listening to music is just opening the app and listening to some free compilation while playing games.

But some time ago, when he was watching a live broadcast of a top gaming anchor, the background music in the live broadcast room kept looping "Daydream Blue".

A curious fan asked him: "Achuan, why do you keep playing this song on repeat? Are you a fan of Hedgehog or Bianlang?"

Ah Chuan did not answer immediately. Instead, he smiled and explained to everyone during a break after playing a round: "I keep repeating this song. I don't care who they are, or how many people know them, and I don't think I'm awesome just because I listen to them. I just feel that anyone who can write such a melody and lyrics will definitely shine."

That day, "Daydream Blue" and other songs by Hedgehog helped Song Jiang unlock another new achievement in his life and pay for digital music.

Then he went on from "Youth is the green age" to "A generation will eventually grow old, but there will always be someone young..." He has reached the level of being able to memorize the lyrics of every Hedgehog song!
He doesn't have the expressive ability of Ah Chuan, but for a young BA like him who didn't devote his youth to school and love but went out into society to support himself, the not-so-beautiful expressions and positive attitude in Bian Langge are the youth of ordinary people like them...

So, when the prelude of Daydream sounded on the stage, he couldn't help but take half a step forward. After looking at Bian Lang on the stage, he returned to his position, stood up straight, and began to wait for the end of the prelude in his heart.

Then, the moment Lang opened his mouth on the stage, he began to sing along: "Youth is a green age, I know that tomorrow will not have colors... Society is a game of hurt, I realized it when I woke up..."

He himself didn't notice it, but this subconscious behavior was captured by the cameraman in the isolation area.

Looking at Song Jiang's calm but determined expression on the screen, cameraman Long Ren felt a lot of emotion in his heart.

I remember the first time he took a photo for the Rolling Stones, there were only three of them: Huang Kai, Dayong and Bian Lang. The location was Paradise Records, which had not yet been renamed the Rolling Stones. That photo was previously the Rolling Stones’ avatar on major music apps.

Later, more and more members of the Rolling Stones joined the group and the photo locations kept changing, but it was always Zilong who took official photos for the Rolling Stones.

He is also a photographer who has witnessed Bian Lang's rise step by step, and is known as one of the two official photographers of the Rolling Stones, along with Guo Li.

However, he does not have the star-chasing attribute of Guoli. He likes to listen to rock music but not fanatically. He prefers to use the equipment in his hands to record these scenes that are often ignored by everyone but are very rock music.

No one stipulated that security guards could not listen to rock music, but what he did not expect was that the liveliness of rock music he saw in Song Jiang far exceeded those of the fans at the scene who were countless times crazier than him.

After this surprising discovery, Zilong's camera would occasionally focus on Song Jiang.

The result did not disappoint him, whether it was "Daydream Blue", "Life should never be so confused forever, it must be more than just dreams and dark moonlight...", or "There is nothing to love in this life, only music pleases my dantian", Brother Song Jiang followed them all without exception.

Judging from his restrained yet impulsive behavior, Zilong felt that for some people, Hedgehog might be more meaningful than the Rolling Stones.

And this meaning is youth.

The current Hedgehog is not the "empty shell" band that Bian Lang created out of excitement at the New Year's Eve party.

The popularity of the first three songs is very high among rock fans, so this scene is no worse than that of the trumpet of New Pants that has already been "changed hands".

The key is that there is a large group of people from the circle who have come to join in the fun in the quarantine area, and everyone can sing along as soon as they start talking.

Although the older generation like Commander didn’t sing along like Yang Yang, Jin Ma, Liang Zi and others, they were all thinking, “That damned Bian Lang, even if he couldn’t write those songs by the Rolling Stones 10 years ago, then these songs by Hedgehog should have been written at that time, why didn’t he show them off then…”

Although Bian Lang, who is in his early 30s, is still a young man in their eyes, but in a broad sense, everyone's understanding of youth basically refers to the age of 20.

Although no one thinks it is inappropriate for Bian Lang to sing this song now, the feeling he gives when he was in his twenties is completely different from the feeling he gives when he sings it now. If Bian Lang had sung these songs then, it would have had a great influence on Chinese rock music at that time.

Just like the comment on Hedgehog at the Original Earth Music Summer: "Hedgehog's music makes you feel that the world is like a garbage dump, but we can still find something called hope in it." This feeling is exactly what the Rolling Stones, a band destined to become a rock hall of fame, cannot give.

Thinking of this, the commander finally understood why Bian Lang insisted on finding a lead singer with a youthful voice to take over even though Hedgehog was doing well.

"There's Bian Lang, the hedgehog. We're seeing fewer and fewer shows. I wonder what new song he'll sing for us today!"

As soon as the commander finished his sigh, the rafters added: "Yeah, I wonder which lucky guy has caught his eye!"

According to Bian Lang's nature, he always plays a new song at every live performance. Of course, "Train" must be sung last, so the second to last song must be a new song.

Amid all the anticipation, Bian Lang, who had led everyone to sing three songs in a row, bent down and picked up the rare paper cup on the stage and shook it towards the fans. After taking a sip, he leaned close to the microphone and said, "Looking at you all, it's great to be young!"

Amid the roar of laughter from the audience, Bian Lang actually recited a limerick on the stage: "It's great to be young, in the prime of life. Youth is just beginning, and you are the pride of your generation. You can jump whenever you want. Young people jump with passion and smile when they jump. Old people can't jump high enough, and they are afraid of getting a stitch in the side and spraining their waists." He had intended to finish the poem in one breath, but at this moment, a shout suddenly broke out from the audience, "I don't agree!"

Then, starting from the isolation area and all the way to the audience area, this sentence began to be heard one after another.

Bian Lang looked in the direction where the sound first came from, and saw the commander and several other old guys getting ready to jump.

Looking at these old boys who were just like teenagers, Bian Lang continued helplessly: "Of course, old people can jump too, but every jump may be the last one. They are not as fearless as young people."

Before these "old men" could figure it out, Bian Lang continued, "So, it's great to be young. You can cry when you want to cry and laugh when you want to laugh. When young people cry, they are like pear blossoms with tears in the rain, and when they laugh, they are like peonies with buds in their eyes. The following new song "Twenty-first Century, When We Are Still Young" is dedicated to all of us who are still young!"

So far, Bian Lang has filled in the fourth piece of the 10 puzzles in Hedgehog's album "Yearning for Life". He hopes that after "Looking Forward to the Warm Spring", there will be a young voice to help him complete this puzzle.

A distorted electric guitar sound, along with Bian Lang's opening move, passed through everyone's nerves like an electric current. Then, Ding Ding's rapid drum beats with a hint of youthful "rebellion" opened the curtain of this youth feast.

Strauss walked towards Bian Lang with a ruthless step, and the two of them started fighting face to face.

The bald Kaizi looked at Ding Ding sideways. The drumstick that had already left an afterimage forced him to practice slapping more firmly. He even thought of the reason why Bian Lang wanted to give up the lead singer: "Then should I give way too, to give more opportunities to young musicians? I've had enough of the Rolling Stones!"

At this moment, Song Jiang, who had been performing as steady as an old dog, was obviously a little panicked. Faced with this new song and prelude he had never heard of, he was at a loss as to what to do and left his post again and again to turn his head to look at Bian Lang on the stage.

But under the constraints of his duties, he retreated again and again.

He didn't know why he felt a little unwilling in his heart, unwilling that he couldn't sing all the songs of Hedgehog without missing one. But who can you blame for releasing new songs?
Moreover, as you can tell from the name, this is his favorite theme about youth.

So after he was sure that he could not achieve perfect success, he focused all his energy on listening to and memorizing the lyrics.

Try to sing along with everyone during the second chorus.

After Ding Ding's standard "Shi Lu"-style overspeeding transition, Bian Lang threw the electric guitar behind him, held the microphone with both hands, and sang with confidence: "In the 21st century, we are still young... No matter where we go, we are together... Enjoy the sunny and windy weather, watch the fallen leaves drifting... Bath in ice, frost, snow and rain, the sun, the moon, the year and the four seasons..."

Yi Ran's lyrics, which are full of talent, made those fans who are already used to Hedgehog's style scream with excitement.

Under the interlude solo initiated by the beautiful and cool teacher Shi, the crowd, which was a little messy just now, started jumping up and down on the spot following the tinkling drum beats.

I don’t remember who said, “If rock music is the medicine that can save us from this dirty world, then punk is the most suitable medicine.”

The truth and correctness of this sentence was infinitely highlighted at this moment. After all, not only Song Jiang, but also other BAs followed this rhythm and started to move.

Song Jiang was thinking silently in his heart: "One more verse, then the chorus should be the next one!"

“Bees sip nectar and express gratitude when they leave…Butterflies envy the beauty of flowers, and they clearly distinguish between love and hate…Sheep kneel to suckle their mothers, and crows repay their parents…Heaven has mercy on the grass, and people value love in the end…”

After Bian Lang sang this verse, Olaf, who had already made some progress in Chinese, once again felt a sense of accomplishment. He once boasted that he would translate all of Bian Lang's Chinese lyrics into English.

But his translation project had not even begun, and Hedgehog had already seen signs of collapse.

Seeing his confused expression, Liu Ziyang guessed his thoughts and said with a smile: "You might as well ask Lao Mo to draw a set of cartoons. Maybe they can express the meaning of the song more intuitively." In Liu Ziyang's mind, no matter how you translate these phrases in this paragraph, it is impossible to express the subtle meaning.

As the pedal was pressed, the electric guitar sound changed its tone and continued to emit the alluring melody from Teacher Shi's claws. As her body shook rhythmically, many boys' guitar gods at the scene were replaced by this big sister with flying blonde hair!

Bian Lang, with empty hands, was not idle either. He was seen pacing back and forth at the front of the stage with his waist bent, while waving to the fans in the audience, signaling them to dance.

Under the encouragement of Bian Lang and the excitement of Ding Ding's drum beats, the fans in the audience felt like they were popping candies encountering saliva. The desert storm would never stop blowing, and the fans' enthusiasm would probably never end either.

This interlude was longer than the previous ones, and Song Jiang's heart was in his throat at this moment: "The chorus is coming, the chorus is coming!"

At the moment when the rhythm ended, Bian Lang returned to the microphone stand and swung the electric guitar on his back forward. After the sounds of all other instruments disappeared, only his singing voice remained in the world: "Gold is found in the sands washed away by the waves, and a person's heart is revealed over time..."

It is not only the rhythm that slows down, but also the speed of the strings and the time on the scene. This sudden slowdown perfectly sets off the mood of the next line of lyrics.

It's like the regret and sigh that people will only understand after a long time, very slowly, but also boring and profound enough: "Feeling the circumstances of life, sighing the fleeting time..."

What was stretched out was not only the sticky thoughts, but also the intervals between the notes. When the drum beats in the air sounded again, with a bit of jazz-flavored laziness, Bian Lang continued to sing: "At the age of chasing dreams, I only work day and night for freedom..."

The pronunciation of each word was so fluent that it might be inappropriate to describe it as singing. Song Jiang, who was used to the previous rhythm and had been listening attentively, almost got hurt!
However, since the theme is youth, the slow pace of reminiscing about the past is just a coincidence. After singing "Every time the music plays...", "Everything is for you..." not only is the pitch increased, but the speed is also doubled.

An overspeeding interlude heralded the return of the crazy female drummer, and the whole song returned to the previous track. Bian Lang once again left the guitar behind, and following the sudden outburst of teacher Shi's sound waves, Bian Lang, carrying a microphone stand, trotted to the front of the stage, turning a one-handed windmill, and sang at an accelerated speed: "Searching for true love, exploring the mysteries of the sky... The journey of a short life, but I hope to have no regrets..."

After stably singing these four sentences, Bian Lang raised the key to A4, using a timbre that Zijian could never sing to pierce the hearts of everyone present: "Golden sand on the coast, green jungle..."

Then the speed slowed down again, and under the three-beat drum beat of Ding Ding, five groups of high notes were torn out: "I can vaguely see you..."

Finally, he announced to all the fans in the audience with a roar that had lost its tune: "Grow old with a smile..."

The ending sound reached the horizon, but the smile on Bian Lang's lips and his right hand raised high in a metal salute became the collective memory of the tens of thousands of people present today whenever they hear this song in the future!

(End of this chapter)