007./ Beijing's Indie Music Scene
I don't know what you may have heard about Beijing's indie music scene. The influential club D-22 is just down the street from my hostel, and it's been instrumental in getting me to meet the people who are worth knowing in the city. The first night I went I met the owner of the club, Michael, who is a professor of finance at PKU. What a fascinating guy.
Justin's band, IDH, played tonight, and they were pretty great. Of course this necessitated some boozing, so I leave it up to you to imagine my current mental state. The sheer level of talent that Beijing is putting out these days is stunning. For a quick jaunt, check out Carsick Cars and Joyside.
I also met a great guy who teaches at the music school here in Beijing. Charlie teaches modern music history -- he teaches rock and experimental music, basically. We had a great conversation about the scene and about Michigan, where he spent some time as a kid. According to Charlie, Beijing is like Vice magazine before Gavin McInnes left -- Shanghai, which is also worth visiting, he tells me, is a little more like Nylon magazine.
It seems like an apt analogy, at least as far as Beijing goes. Things are very slapdash here. People can get away with whatever they dream up. The worthwhile local music here ranges from Sonic Youth on out into left field until you're not sure what you're listening to. Kids here can play the guitar, and their pent-up energy isn't from Montreal winters, it's from growing up in a Communist society -- one which still is paranoid about modern rock music. Charlie helped organize a music festival that got canceled thanks to the government's worries about image and the Olympics.
This city is fascinating, dynamic, downright bizarre. I feel like I'm ready to be repatriated here.
