The hot search on July 6th belongs to Jay Chou . The "Oolong" of low scores for the unreleased album has not yet subsided. The MV for the title song "The Greatest Work" of the same name of the first album was first exposed, instantly igniting public opinion. It is the familiar "recipe" of Jay Chou's music - a mixture of classical, hip-hop and pop, and the familiar elements of Jay Chou's MV - piano, suspense and magic are all indispensable. In this regard, some fans lamented, and some netizens worked hard to find all the artists and works mentioned in the lyrics. Even Lang Lang who appeared in the MV has become the focus of public discussion...
"The Greatest Work" MV is released In just 3 hours, the number of clicks exceeded 100 million. On the Weibo entertainment list alone, the hot search topics about this new song account for "half of the country", which shows Jay Chou's influence. However, during the carnival, the voices of "repeating itself", "not good enough", and "it doesn't deserve the title of the song" are also heard all the time. Such comments also appeared when his other works were released in recent years. Rather than being demanding and critical of some listeners, it is an inevitable result that the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. It is almost certain that "The Greatest Work" is neither Jay Chou's "greatest work" nor the "greatest work" of the Chinese music scene . But there is no doubt that the "Jay Chou phenomenon" has become an "unprecedented" existence in the Chinese pop music world.
This aspect stems from the large number of epoch-making outstanding works he has accumulated over the past 20 years of art, which has enabled him to have a wide cross-generational audience ranging from those born in the 50s and 60s to those born in the 00s and 10s; On the other hand, it is also because he "came out of nowhere" during the heyday of the Chinese music scene, benefited from the exploration and practice of the fusion of Chinese and Western pop music creation by his predecessors, and coincided with the explosive spread of pop culture among young people after the millennium. . Optimistically speaking, Jay Chou marks the creative height of the Chinese music scene, but to a certain extent, this nostalgic sentiment that "there is no more Jay Chou in the Chinese music scene" is also building a barrier for the public to access more outstanding newcomers and new works. At a time when popular culture is becoming more and more segmented and fan-oriented, it may not be destined to give birth to a national singer of the same magnitude as Jay Chou, but we may expect, and perhaps should give more opportunities, so that newcomers and new works can break through the "greatest" The puzzle of "works" brings more touching and surprises.
The picture below is a photo of Jay Chou's concert information
Popularizing art history, or is it "dropping the book bag" to show off his skills?
"A song of modern art history!" Netizens commented after listening to this new song. Indeed. Some netizens have counted the artists and their works or iconic images that appear in lyrics and MVs, ranging from the apples, pipes and doves that appear in Magritte's works, to Dali's beard, lobster phone, "The Eternity of Memory" "; from Van Gogh's "Starry Night", Munch 's "The Scream", to Monet's "Water Lilies" and Sanyu's "Nude with Bent Legs", almost every lyric is a "stalk", and a shot is an image. degree of density.
Many netizens like this unique theme. At a time when the themes of pop music are becoming more and more narrow and only indulge in writing about small love, Jay Chou chooses to pay tribute to artists through creation. However, some comments did not buy this, thinking that the enumeration of the masters and their works was too deliberate and seemed a little off-putting. Especially in the MV, Jay Chou and his friends accidentally traveled to the 1920s and encountered the creativity of many art masters. It also "collided" with the Woody Allen movie " Midnight in Paris ".
However, if you look back carefully, you will find that Jay Chou did not write this song to compete with the masters, but because he was inspired by his travels and exhibitions in recent years. What is particularly worth mentioning is that compared to well-known art masters such as Dali and Van Gogh, the lyrics specifically mention a Chinese painter who is not well known - Sanyu. And Sanyu was the original motivation for Jay Chou to create this piece. Earlier, he had posted a photo of Sanyu's posthumous work "The Lonely Elephant" on social platforms. The accompanying text reveals his admiration and recognition for the artist: "There are no fallen leaves in the paintings of a lifetime, only little elephants walking in the desert. Only the flowers that Sanyu wants can grow at the end of the solitary branches."At that time, he revealed that he handed over this theme to the lyricist Huang Junlang and asked him to interpret this "artist's loneliness".
From this emotional and poetic text, we can feel that Jay Chou did not indulge in games and milk tea in these years, but really thought and grew. Having become successful and famous, he will be moved by Sanyu's experience of becoming famous during his lifetime and dying in a foreign country. He will know how to appreciate the loneliness of being alone in the vast world. He is no longer the person who wrote in " If You Don't Love Me, Pull Down " in 2018. Brother, I have trained my chest muscles, if you still want to rely on the state of "Russian lyrics."
The addition of Huang Junlang also enriched the meaning of his creation. This writer and lyricist with many years of painting experience has previously written lyrics for Jay Chou's "In the Name of the Father" and "Mojito". When writing "The Greatest Work" this time, he really tried to match as many words as possible to a painting, a piece of prose, a poem, or an allusion. In a post on Weibo on the 6th, he explained the theme he hopes to convey in "The Greatest Work" - "The most amazing thing about art is that it can let 'self-negative emotions' and 'extreme and persistent thoughts' flow into life. You, who may be difficult for others to accept, are praised and appreciated through your creations, and have become the most positive and greatest existence. Only art can transform those thoughts, willful words and deeds, and absurdities that are not recognized by the people around you! A life of poverty and loneliness, transformed into the most beautiful and fascinating existence! "
"Being a myth" should not be the fate of outstanding creators
Although many fans have repeatedly clarified the controversial "The Greatest Work"! The name is not something Jay Chou is proud of, but to a certain extent, in the past few years, netizens have praised Jay Chou extremely, and the market’s feedback on Jay Chou’s popularity has indeed given the creator an illusion and confidence, which is why there is such a line in the lyrics. Expression - "The madness of generations, the king of music, all things surrender to my music. The road is still going, I am still creating, the melody on my fingertips is yearning. The madness of generations, the king of music, I don't think I need a picture frame , it cannot frame the speed of the keys, all my notes are future art.”
Some people say that he has the capital to be "arrogant" in his works. In recent years, the word "Jay Chou" has become synonymous with the Chinese music scene. In 2020, he released the single "Mojito", which once caused the QQ music server to crash. In May of this year, his two concerts, "The Strongest on the Surface" and "Demon God", were re-screened online and received nearly 100 million views. Even the popularity of Liu Genghong 's fitness videos is partly due to the selection of Jay Chou's " Dragon Fist " and " Materia Medica Compendium " as background music.
Compared to the situation where singers "let a hundred flowers bloom" during the heyday of the Chinese music scene around 2000, the "Jay Chou phenomenon" born now has a somewhat "alone and seeking defeat" meaning. You must know that before and after Jay Chou's debut, people with similar creative styles and routes include Tao Zhe, JJ Lin, and others. In terms of the quality and market appeal of their works, they are not inferior. However, nowadays, the charts of major music platforms are "dominated" by short video songs, and it is no longer difficult for senior singers to release singles like toothpaste to stir up topics. The sales figures of music albums have repeatedly hit new highs, but they are all produced by traffic idols who are "exclusively for fans". Music variety shows have hits all year round, but the world is already dominated by "archaeological" covers. As for social platforms, "2000 Chinese music gods fight" is a hot search every once in a while...
In the final analysis, it is the continued downturn in the Chinese music scene that makes Jay Chou a "myth". In fact, looking back, every time he releases a film or a single, he is always questioned about "exhausting his talent" and "repeating himself". Even if there are catchy songs like " Confession Balloon " and " Waiting for You After Class " that everyone learns to sing, they are just relaxing creations that netizens call "wandering in the comfort zone". However, such a relaxed and repetitive work, even if the "emotional filter" that comes with the word "Jay Chou" is put aside, is still a scarce resource in the current Chinese music scene. Aren’t there any comparable newcomers and new works in the Chinese music scene in recent years? Not necessarily.For example, new generation singers such as Mao Buyi and Hua Chenyu , who have both singing and creative abilities, once amazed the public with "Happy Sorrow" and "Quasimodo's Gift", but gradually they became more and more popular in the lifestyle genre. The "funny role" of variety shows is the "deep binding" with popular film and television theme songs. It is difficult to concentrate wholeheartedly on pure music creation to improve and achieve greater musical achievements. On the other side, there are Luo Dayou , Cui Jian , Lin Zixiang , Michelle Yeh , Stefanie Sun , Cyndi Wang . These singers from more than ten or even decades ago set off a nostalgia craze with their classic duets and became One "myth" after another.
However, being "mythified" should not be the fate of outstanding creators. It will not only affect the artistic height that their own creations can reach, but may also obscure some potential and creative new voices from reaching a wider public, making They live in the shadow of "myths", hindering the positive interaction between creation and the market, making the development of the current music industry, which is already overly dependent on variety shows, film and television, and the fan economy, even more difficult. The creation of "myths" is not so much the public's refusal to accept new things, but rather the platform and marketing accounts concocting the "Chinese music scene is dead" trap, which damages the glimmer of "innovation" in the "feelings" of consumption. When chasing the "head" and "traffic password", why not let Jay Chou go and leave room for the next "Jay Chou" to grow?
(Text/Huang Qizhe)
Source: Wen Wei Po
