This is interesting in light of the whole “is Mayday a rock band or not” theme that never really leaves us. A-yue is famously foul-mouthed, and the fact that his latest album lacks obscenities has caused people to question whether or not he has changed (read: gone commercial). The man himself has a good answer to this; he notes that he doesn’t believe in cleaning up language in music. If you’re singing about something that, frankly, pisses you off, then you swear in the song. If, on the other hand, you’re singing a love song, then cursing would be out of place. He does not curse just to curse; it is more a matter of him not censoring himself when it happens. But when the subject turned around to whether his latest album was somehow a return to pop music, A-yue replied that he’s always been a pop musician; he has no delusions that he’s some underground or alternative artist.
My sense is that he’s right about this, but he’s also not quite mainstream. S.H.E, Fahrenheit, and Jolin (for example) all sell a lot more albums than A-yue – who knows why – so he is not usually top20, yet he’s not really cutting edge. Even his collaborations with MC Hotdog aren’t really all that shocking. (Though have they ever sung “I Love Taiwanese Girls” on the mainland? I think I’d fly in just to see that!) He gets bonus points, as always, for being more self-aware than just about anyone on the Mandopop scene, though.
Just because it has been a tough weekend (the Vikings lost – in overtime – and the Packers, Cowboys and 49ers *all* won. It’s like a nightmare. The only bright spot is that the Colts won, and the Redskins have yet to play) (if anyone is really confused: these are American football teams), here’s a picture of A-yue in Chengdu visiting the pandas:
Apparently he had wanted to hug a panda (who knows why – they look cute, but they’re still bears) but was thwarted. Still, here we see the softer side of A-yue.
lol actually i’ve always wanted to hug a panda too. they’ve always looked so cuddly? lol like a teddy bear :]
Did you ever see that story last year about the man who climbed into the panda pen at the Beijing Zoo to try to hug one of the pandas? The panda bit him, of course, but being rather *ahem* inebriated at the time, the man bit back! As I recall, he was arrested. A cautionary tale
I was quite traumatized by this primary school textbook passage about pandas killing their enemies by rolling on them and squeezing their insides out like squeezing toothpaste. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks!
At 17, this female group from HK, once said… our music is mainstream, only our looks are not.
wow okay thanks for those tales x.x never knew that about pandas. guess i wont be hugging one anytime soon or ever…..