MOREN MAO
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ISSUE 1MARCH 2024
From the 90s’ most prominent punk star to the best indie rock band of the 21st century, this newsletter explores the impact of censorship and authoritarian control on the yaogun community. Composed of translated excerpts from interviews, album booklets, and internet comments, accompanied by lyrical analysis and curated playlists.
New Little Bar music venue located in the Yulin Subdistrict of Chengdu. The original Little Bar location was the birthplace of underground music in Chengdu, China. Photographed by 蔡鸣 (Cai Min), 2009.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
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REGULATING LIVE PERFORMANCES
BAND:
生命之饼 (SMZB)
Album cover of SMZB’s latest album Once Upon A Time in the East (2020), featuring a statue of Mao Zedong falling over.
Listen to a curated playlist of SMZB here:
YOUTUBE:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQots5ZXea6CyZeJBet25pJYhonpVVPXd&si=KaWm7hMMY2nvnePX
SMZB comes from the city of Wuhan, known as the home of Chinese punk. SMZB is one of the oldest and most influential punk bands in China, their songs are characterized by themes of rebellion, freedom, and injustice. Their entire discography is currently blacklisted, unable to be accessed through any Chinese streaming platforms.
In the 2014 documentary “Never Release My Fist” (绝不松开我的拳头), vocalist Wu Wei (吴维) and the band manager/former guitarist Zhang Hua (张华) described their encounter with the Bureau of Culture and local police, who interfered with their performance.
ZH:
At that time, the local government was very nervous and cautious. Representatives from the Bureau of Culture and the local police all came to the venue. When we arrived, the organizers informed me that the performance might have some complications. They asked me to tell the band members to keep their mouths shut during the performance and to cut out some of the songs.
WW:
There were two songs that they didn’t let us perform because the lyrics were too sensitive. So, I said OK, we have eight left. Fine. But at dinner time, we were informed that two more songs were cut. Oh, then six left. The second day, the night before the show, one more song was cut. I asked, “Only five songs left?” He said, “Correct!”
ZH:
I told him [Wu Wei], not to talk too much on stage today, just play straight through and we’ll grab the money and leave. Wu Wei said alright. But once he got on stage, he still said whatever he wanted.
On stage, Wu Wei asked the crowd if they wanted him to sing or talk. The crowd responded with “sing and talk.” In Chinese, combining the words sing and talk means "to rap." Wu Wei asked the crowd if they knew who the best rap group in China was. After rejecting a couple of the audience’s responses, he declared that the best rap group in China is the Communist Party. The crowd cheered and the Wu Wei continued: “Their words always sound better than our songs, and we bow down to them!”
ZH:
Then, the officer from the Bureau of Culture dragged me over and told me to go on stage and tell them to stop talking. Wu Wei said alright, but before the second song, he made another speech. And still sang the songs that were supposed to be cut from the performance. An officer came over and asked me what was going on and if I told them to stop. I said, “Yes, you saw me do it.” Then he slapped me.
WW:
He [Zhang Hua] was slapped twice by the officer from the Bureau of Culture because he didn’t stop our performance. After the show, armed police showed up and escorted us straight to their vehicle.”
SMZB’s latest album, Once Upon A Time in the East, debuted in 2020. A good portion of the tracklist are songs that remain defiant and critical of China’s social state. But mixed in are also reinterpretations of classical Chinese poetry, incorporations of traditional instruments, and depictions of daily life in Wuhan. Defined by a strong Celtic folk influence, the sound of the Scottish bagpipes permeates each album. While SMZB’s lyrics are generally heavy and serious, the sound of bagpipes provides a powerful sense of joy and hope. Their entire discography can be found on YouTube, with only one album available on Spotify.
Vocalist 吴维 (Wu Wei) crowd surfing. Image from Nathanel Amar’s article on Wuhan and SMZB: https://radii.co/article/smzb-new-album-20202012, SMZB performing at the Vox Livehouse in Wuhan. Image from the Vox Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/voxlivehouse/photos_by
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