In July 2018, at the Grassland Music Festival in Fengningba, tens of thousands of spectators were singing birthday greetings for a man over half a hundred years old. The man on the stage was full of tears, because he had spent most of his life wandering and seen all the vicissitudes of the world.
In his early songs, there was a lot of criticism and decadence toward society. Even because of his obsession with ideals, he was once sent to a mental hospital for treatment. And now he has taught countless people to let go of the world, so that those who have heard his songs have an extra blue lotus in their hearts.
He is the Chinese rock poet Xu Wei. Audience friends who like rock and roll can click a note, let us feel the story of this "Xu Teenager" together.
Xu Wei as a child is no different from many children, and when his parents gave him a guitar, Xu Wei's heart quietly had a musical dream. Due to his constant practice and unique understanding of music, Xu Wei was soon favored by a university professor who joined the orchestra in the army and officially started his music career.
However, in the 3 years of working in the army, although Xu Wei received a formal music education and had good prospects for development, he has always been very distressed. Because he has always had a rock heart in his heart, he hopes to be able to write rock music that moves people's hearts like Cobain, and wants to go to Beijing to release a rock album of his own.
With such a dream, Xu Wei resolutely quit his stable job and even separated from his girlfriend who had been in love with the army for 3 years. A man came to Beijing with a broken guitar.
What many people don't know is that the "Persistence" that made Tian Zhenhuo all over the country was written at this time. The lyrics of the song "Hug you OH MY BABY, you know I can't back down." In fact, Xu Wei is writing about the difference between himself and his girlfriend.
But it is such a talented musician who sings his carefully prepared "Blue Bird" and "Two Days" to the boss of the Red Star Society, but what he receives is the extremely ambiguous attitude of the boss Chen Jiantian.
Chen Jiantian thought Xu Wei's songs were good, but they were too niche, and no one was willing to pay for an album for him. And Xu Wei's appearance was too different from Zheng Jun's at the same time, and Chen Jiantian's reply to Xu Wei was only waiting.
In this way, there is no signing, no fame. The young Xu Wei lived the lowest level of the north drift life. If you have ever drifted north, you must have felt the suffering of Xu Wei at that time.
At that time, he lived in the basement and drank tap water, but his heart was more unwilling to music. In that environment, he was like a demon, constantly writing songs.
With the leakage of the song, Xu Wei gradually became famous in Beijing's rock circles, and many people admired to hear Xu Wei sing, including the songwriter Gao Xiaosong.
When Xu Wei sang the original song "Don't cry baby" of "Persistence", many people at the scene shed tears of emotion. And when Faye Wong's royal producer Zhang Yadong saw the manuscript of "Elsewhere", he silently said " Xu Wei is going to be on fire " .
Xu Wei is indeed on fire, but Xu Wei's fire is only living in the circle of musicians.
In 1997, Red Star finally released his first album "Elsewhere" for Xu Wei. Because of the strong personal color exuded by his works, the songs of "Elsewhere" were selected as the only popular music works in the "Selected Contemporary Chinese Poetry".
But as Mr. Chan judged, Mr. Xu's music lacked commerciality. At the launch of the album, the audience under the stage only said that it was not bad. At that time, his music had not yet entered the mainstream public vision, and "Elsewhere" sold a total of 500,000 copies. Later, the sales of "That Year" fell to 150,000 copies.
So much effort has been injected, but in exchange for dismal sales. After this, Xu Wei suffered from depression and was no longer willing to communicate with others. At that time, in order to cure Xu Wei's illness, Red Star also sent Xu Wei to a mental hospital for treatment, but the hospital's drugs had no effect.
The huge frustration made Xu Wei stop playing his guitar, he didn't take anything, and he went back to his hometown of Xi'an alone, locking himself in the house alone.
No one knows what Xu Wei went through that year. But what everyone knows is that Xu Wei can still come out by relying on a guitar. Seeing the audience here, you can point a little attention, let's continue to see how Xu Wei changed back to the previous "Xu Teenager" with a guitar.
Xu Wei had been influenced by Köppen's music before, and he thought that the music should be gloomy and gray. As a result, the music he created was often not recognized by the public.
But what he didn't expect was that Cobain was able to create such music because he was originally dark and low, and the real Xu Wei actually loved life. He should not create music that transcends the ordinary, but should create music that embraces the ordinary.
Although suffering from depression, Xu Wei, who has been wandering outside for many years, finally returned to his girlfriend Yuan Feng's side. Years of being in a different place, years of no news, and even the firm opposition of his family did not let Yuan Feng leave Xu Wei.
Because she knows that Xu Wei's "Hometown" and "Warmth" are written for herself. In 1999, the two married, and Xu Wei finally returned to life in a constant dream. Xu Wei, who experienced an ordinary life, decided to find his former comrades-in-arms to learn to do business and become an ordinary small boss.
But at this time, fate seems unwilling to give up this musical talent. Comrades-in-arms told Xu Wei that they could take him to do business, but before watching Xu Wei play guitar for more than 10 hours, what was really suitable for Xu Wei should be music.
After a year of healing, Xu Wei attended a concert at the instigation of a friend. Facing thousands of spectators, Xu Wei once again picked up his beloved guitar, and the "Xu Teenager" returned.
In 2002. The album "Time Walk" came to the public. Just by looking at the name of the album, we know that Xu Wei's creation is different from before.
"Plain", "Summer Wind", "Gift"... They are all warm names, and this new album is also an album that makes people feel warm. As soon as the album was released, it was widely recognized by the audience.
And when Xu Wei was struggling to pursue his dreams before suing himself, the sentences he wrote down were no longer gloomy and heavy sentences, but the beliefs of Pudu sentient beings in Buddhism.
The song "Blue Lotus" begins with the song: "Nothing can stop your yearning for freedom." This lyric is written by the Tang Dynasty's Master Xuanzang, but singing about everyone's heart, Xu Wei transformed the previous gloomy rock into a rock that guides the audience to love the present.
Some people scolded Xu Wei as a traitor to Ke Ben, but Xu Wei's reply was: Without the life in front of him, how can he have the strength to pursue the dream in his heart?
Today, Xu Wei has found his own musical symbol. In the hearts of the Chinese people, he also became an indelible rock poet.
What the editor wants to say is that Xu Wei can always be a teenager, relying on his passion for music and love for life. In the hearts of each of us, we have our own dreams.
In our lives, we are all suffering. But when we look back, are we still the simple teenagers we were before? What memories can Xu Wei's story make you?
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