ebookslot Chapter 42: Writing songs for Jiang Shan and planning a record company.
Chapter 42: Writing songs for Jiang Shan and planning a record company.
The next morning, Li Si'an went out and bought a stack of musical notation paper.
Tang Yun was studying upstairs, while he sat behind the counter, spread out his manuscript paper, and began to think about what to write to Jiang Shan.
Jiang Shan personally invited him to write a song, so he had to deliver something substantial and couldn't just bluff. If he bluffed once, it would be difficult for him to survive in the industry afterward.
He leaned back in his chair, his mind searching for all the ancient-style songs he had ever heard.
In my past life, when I was scrolling through short videos, songs like these were everywhere. Songs like "Liang Liang," "Hong Zhao Yuan," "Qing Jin Tian Xia," "Jin Li Chao," and "Chi Ling" kept popping up one after another.
But if we're really going to give it to Jiang Shan to sing, we'll have to be selective.
First of all, anyone with a Peking Opera-style singing style is out of the question. Jiang Shan's voice is warm and delicate, not suited for Peking Opera singing. Those songs may sound nice, but when she sings them, the feeling just isn't right.
Moreover, he himself said that he couldn't sing in the style of traditional opera.
So this one point alone eliminates a large part of it. For example, in "The Red-Clad Actress," the operatic singing is its soul; without it, it's no longer the same.
Although "Liang Liang" doesn't have operatic elements, its melody is more modern and doesn't quite match Jiang Shan's temperament. "Hong Zhaoyuan" has too fast a tempo and leans towards dance music, which is also not her style.
There aren't many left. Then we'll remove those melodies that are too whimsical and don't suit her gentle temperament—and there will be even fewer.
He went over the songs in his mind several times and finally settled on two: "The Kite's Mistake" and "Half a Pot of Yarn".
The opening of "The Kite's Mistake" is a flute prelude, melodious and gentle, somewhat similar to the flute prelude of "Water Town in Dreams," yet different.
The song has a light and catchy rhythm, a smooth melody, and a catchy chorus. Jiang Shan's rendition of this song perfectly captures the regret of "missing out."
"Half a Pot of Yarn" is slower and quieter. The lyrics are Zen-like, "Ink has entered the water, crossing a pool of blue and white porcelain." It's not the kind of straightforward love song; it requires the singer to use their voice to create a vivid image.
Jiang Shan, an actress by profession, excels at acting with her voice. When she sings this song, she can convey the contradictory feeling of "seeing through the illusions of the world yet still being in it."
Neither song features any operatic elements; both are written in a purely pop style, yet they possess a distinctly Chinese flavor. They have a touch more Zen-like quality than "Dreamy Water Town," and a more sophisticated style than the ordinary pop songs on her album.
Once he made up his mind, he began to write.
He wrote very quickly. Because the score was in his mind, he only needed to transfer it to paper. The pencil scratched across the staff, and the notes fell one after another.
By three or four o'clock in the afternoon, the scores and lyrics for both songs were completed.
He laid the manuscript paper on the counter, checked it from beginning to end, made several corrections with a pencil, and then closed the notebook with satisfaction.
He finished writing for Jiang Shan. Next up is his own.
That's when it got stuck.
It wasn't that he didn't have songs, it was that he had too many. His head was filled with the most popular hits from the Chinese music scene of the next twenty years; he could pick out any of them and they'd be top-notch. But that was the problem—which ones to choose?
Li Si'an leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling, and started playing songs in her head.
"Fairy Tale" was the first one that popped into his head. It wasn't because he really wanted to sing this song, but because in the Chinese entertainment rebirth novels he had read in his previous life, eight out of ten protagonists had chosen this song.
That music video was incredibly powerful; if it had been made well, it would have been a tearjerker, guaranteeing high viewership and widespread appeal.
Moreover, he himself felt that this song, even in 1996, would not be out of date in terms of aesthetics. The melody and lyrics were the kind that "wouldn't grab your attention at first listen, but you'd never forget it after hearing it once."
Okay, the first song is decided, "Fairy Tale".
So what should the second and third songs be?
Several songs went through his mind. Some of them were from much later years, after 2015. Their arrangement style and lyrical context were almost 20 years behind the present, and it would be easy for people to hear that something was wrong with them.
Some songs may be relevant to a particular era, but the original composer may have already written them. If they end up clashing with the original, it would be more than just an embarrassing situation.
He's a newcomer, and he's already being accused of plagiarism right after his debut. How will he ever be able to make a living in the future?
The more he thought about it, the more his head ached.
Later, he changed his approach and decided to choose Yu Quan's "Running".
Yu Quan only started to become popular around the turn of the millennium. Their songs, released in 96, were just right in terms of aesthetic appeal.
The upbeat and inspiring style of "Running" only became popular a few years later. No one would write a song like this now, so there's no need to worry about the risk of copying or plagiarism.
Moreover, the song "Running" has an exciting melody, a brisk rhythm, and lyrics full of youthful energy, which is very suitable for his current age.
An album can't be all love songs; it's missing an inspirational song that's widely popular.
The second song we decided on was "Running".
As for the third song, he simply took a shortcut and chose Michael Wong's "The First Time".
This song is about the bittersweetness of first love.
"Oh, the first time I held your hands, I lost my way and didn't know where to go."
He's eighteen years old this year, so singing this kind of theme won't feel out of place.
Moreover, both "Fairy Tale" and "The First Time" are by Michael Wong, and their styles are similar, so they don't feel out of place in the same album.
More importantly, Michael Wong only went solo after 2000, and it's impossible for anyone to write his songs now, so there's no need to worry about them being copied.
Three songs, three directions—bitter, inspirational, and youthful. That's enough.
Li Si'an put down her pen and wrote the titles of the three songs on the inside of the manuscript cover: "Fairy Tale," "Running," and "The First Time."
An album has ten songs, but Li Si'an felt that preparing three hit songs would be enough. As for the remaining seven songs, she would just find someone to buy a few to fill the album later.
A song costs a couple thousand yuan, so it doesn't cost much.
This money has to be spent. Because currently, there's no such thing as a single or EP in China.
If you sell a cassette tape or CD to a customer that only has one or two songs, he will definitely smash up your store.
So, no matter what, you have to make sure your album has ten songs, otherwise you'll only be able to do compilation albums with other artists.
Li Si'an was planning to make a name for herself in the music scene with these three songs, so why would she make a compilation album? That would just be carrying someone else's sedan chair.
As for the idea of simply copying ten hit songs and stuffing them into an album to create a so-called masterpiece, Li Si'an dismissed it after it only briefly crossed her mind.
The reason is simple: in the mainland music market in the 90s, piracy could easily eat up the market share of legitimate music.
An album with three hugely popular hits might sell a million copies. But a masterpiece album with ten hit songs might only sell 800,000 copies.
The buzz generated by releasing ten hit songs together will attract the attention of pirates more quickly, leading to a faster spread of pirated copies to the market.
If sales are high enough, pirates will even lower the selling price further. What they love most is this kind of quick, one-off profit.
----------------------------------------------------------
Li Si'an put the completed manuscript into an envelope, tucked it into a drawer, and locked it. She didn't rush to send it out.
He had to deliberately delay for two days.
Otherwise, I'd only accepted the task yesterday, and I'd already show the finished product to my uncle today. That's too fast, it's outrageous. I need to put it off for a bit, to make it seem less urgent, and to avoid making my uncle overthink things.
On the third night, he finally took the envelope and rode his bicycle to his uncle's house.
When Zhou Weidong opened the door, he was wiping his hands with a towel, and there were oil stains on his apron.
Have you eaten?
"No."
"That's perfect, your aunt made braised pig's trotters today." Zhou Weidong stepped aside to let him in.
At the dinner table, Li Si'an ate two bowls of rice, pushed the bowls away, and took out an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Uncle, this is a song I wrote for Jiang Shan. Please take a look."
Zhou Weidong wiped his hands, opened the envelope, and pulled out the two stacks of musical notation paper. The first piece was "The Kite's Mistake." The second piece was "Half a Pot of Yarn."
He didn't say anything, turning the pages one by one. When he saw the lyrics of "Half a Pot of Yarn" – "Ink has entered the water, crossing a pool of blue and white porcelain" – his finger paused on the paper for a moment, then he turned the page again.
After reading it, he put the manuscript paper into an envelope and placed it on the table.
"How is it?" Li Si'an asked.
Zhou Weidong picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Not bad. These two songs suit Jiang Shan's voice quite well, and the melodies are neither too loud nor too quiet, making them pleasant to listen to."
Li Si'an nodded, feeling a little more at ease.
After finishing their meal, Ma Xiaoqin cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen. The father and son sat on the sofa, and Zhou Weidong lit a cigarette.
"Uncle, I need to discuss something with you."
"explain."
"I want to be a singer."
Zhou Weidong paused in his smoking, then turned to look at him.
"Didn't President Wang Xiaojing say last time that I have good qualities? I can write and sing, and I'm not bad-looking either," Li Si'an smiled.
"I went back and thought about it, and I think he makes sense. With my looks, it's really a waste to put me behind the scenes writing songs."
"The key point is that he doesn't earn as much as a singer by writing lyrics and composing music behind the scenes."
Zhou Weidong put the cigarette in his mouth and didn't say anything, but his eyes twitched slightly.
"If I really want to sing, I need to find a good company." Li Si'an sat up straight.
"Can I sign with another company? I wrote the song and sang it, but they take the lion's share of the profits and the copyright. I feel it's a bit unfair."
Zhou Weidong stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, looked at him, and said, "So?"
"So I want to partner with you and start our own record company."