Sing the song he wrote when he was 14 years old, when 40 year old Zhang Wei
August 31st is Zhang Wei's 40th birthday.
He, who debuted as a member of the Flower Band at the age of 14, has become a "young veteran artist" who has been in business for 26 years.
A few days ago, he held a "Great Time" concert in Shanghai. At the age of 40, he doesn't look much different from when he debuted at the age of 14. He still has the iconic hedgehog head, with plenty of hair that is enviable, and his body is still colorful, as if he has knocked over a color palette. He still held a guitar, with a playful smile on his face, speaking at an astonishing speed, and performing with great force. Through the large screen on site, sweat beads on his head were clearly visible.
In Shanghai, where concerts are crowded, Da Zhangwei's performance may be the liveliest. The Shanghai Oriental Sports Center has become a large amusement park, with slides, trampolines, and bathtubs all moved onto the stage. When familiar melodies such as "Xi Shua Shua", "Bei Er Shuang", and "Hua Die Fei" rang out, fans couldn't help but stand up and wave their fluorescent sticks, both in the infield and in the stands.
These divine songs, which were once popular on the streets and alleys, have been criticized for being "superficial" and "like songs written by big data.". But it is undeniable that the brainwashed lyrics and demonic rhythm have infected everyone on site, washing away the accumulated mental pressure.
"Great Time" Concert Shanghai Station
"You are the best, most beautiful, most wonderful, and most proud. Blossom to your heart's content, you are the strongest, best, brightest, and most radiant. Your heart needs you to coax it." When Da Zhang Wei sings "Rainbow Little White Horse", you can understand why so many people like him. After all, who doesn't want to be praised? A girl in the front row was singing loudly while filming a video, aligning herself with Da Zhang Wei on stage.
And when early works of Flower Band such as "Flowers", "Still", and "Destruction" were sung, fans discovered that the "punk boy" from back then was still there. "Still" is a song written by Da Zhang Wei at the age of 14, included in the first album "Beside Happiness" by Hua Er Band in 1999. More than 20 years have passed, and Still Still can still fight. Recently, "Band's Summer 3" has returned, and Da Zhang Wei sang this song "Still" at the opening show, making people feel like they have seen that spirited 14-year-old boy again.
At the concert, a VCR was played, reviewing the ups and downs of Da Zhangwei's debut, the sharp edges of his past, and the low points of his career. There is a conversation between him and his 18-year-old self. He said, "I want to have a toast to my 18-year-old self. I envy you at the age of 18, and you also need to understand why I am like this now. We will eventually meet again in some direction of life, and at that time you won't hate me now. I also want to embrace you again, who used to be you."
At the age of 40, Da Zhang Wei reconciled with his childhood self.
Da Zhangwei Sings "Flowers"
Refuse deeply
"Loneliness revolves around the TV, dying to persist, disappearing at 2:30 pm. I wish someone could accompany me through the end. The emptiness beats my will, as if this time has come to a standstill. I doubt people's lives and hide it." This is the song "Still" written by Da Zhangwei at the age of 14.
When the Flower Band emerged, Da Zhangwei was hailed as a "young genius". When people praised his lyrics for writing well back then, he just smiled and said, "They always thought I was particularly profound before, but in fact, those lyrics were written when I didn't want to listen to the class. If one sentence goes by one, I don't even know what I'm singing."
But no matter what he sings, the young Zhang Wei yearns for eternal restlessness. At that time, he said, "Young people should not always be addicted to particularly smooth music. If everyone can always maintain a particularly passionate mood, then they will not hate themselves after getting old."
In a daze, young Zhang Wei became the "third-generation rock leader" and the "hope of new Chinese music". So when he changed his music style, started making pop and electronic music, and even created "miracle songs" such as "Washing Brush" and "Bei'er Shuang", he quickly faced various criticisms.
But Da Zhangwei does not intend to "rectify his wrongdoing". He has seen many impoverished rock musicians, he doesn't want to be angry, he doesn't want to be unknown, he wants to be noticed, he wants to make money, he wants to make himself and his family comfortable. At the concert of "Good Times", there was a sentence he once said in the VCR: "There is a truth in this world. When your song is not popular enough, they have ten thousand reasons not to let you play. As long as your song is popular enough, they will kneel down and ask you to play."
Da Zhangwei refused deeply. He once said that he grew up in an era of iced black tea, fake eyelashes, hamburgers, roller skating, StarCraft, and CS. Perhaps one day we will all feel that those things are particularly foolish, but that's how we grew up.
When superficial accusations come, he even tries harder to show his shallowness, which is another kind of rebellion for him, a confrontation with mainstream aesthetics and evaluation methods. So, he wrote "dry" songs one after another, using various ways to make everyone happy.
Someone described Da Zhangwei as follows: "If you fall, Sodagreen will see it and gently help you up; Mayday will see it and cheer for you to stand up strong; Da Zhangwei will see it and lie down with you, asking what you are playing with."
When someone felt sorry for Da Zhangwei, he responded, "Don't think I was delayed by pop music. If I weren't so commercial, I would definitely be the first punk in China. But what about the first punk in China? It's not important, what's important is whether I live so that I feel like I'm alive now."
"Great Time" Concert Shanghai Station
Facing oneself directly
Da Zhangwei's concert was filled with laughter. He sang one song after another, casually talking about stand up comedy, and the fans in the audience laughed uncontrollably.
In the cover section of the love song, he said that in order to save money and not pay the copyright fee, he could only sing two words per song, and let the audience sing the rest in chorus. He opened his mind, recorded a VCR and smashed his own scene, and even played "heart to heart induction" with the audience. On the scene, he transformed into a roundworm in the stomach of music fans and spoke their "inner thoughts".
These skills were probably developed in variety shows. I don't know when he started, but Da Zhangwei became a frequent guest in various variety shows such as music, comedy, and romance, becoming the "atmosphere group", "king of golden phrases", and "sober hearted in the world". As long as he is present, the program will not be silent. He said, "I can tell ten thousand jokes on stage just to be able to sing another song I like while standing on stage."
He is still writing songs and singing. In those simple and happy songs, there is a great Zhang Wei style philosophy of life: "Full of cuteness, invincible", "Five words floating in the sky, that's not a problem", "Life is a joke, don't cry and listen to it", "As long as I don't care, no one can hurt me". He is not persistent, not indecisive, not introverted, should be clear headed, strong, and most importantly, happy.
At the concert, fans celebrate the birthday of "Big Teacher"
But sometimes, he also gets into doubts and contradictions: "What I can give everyone now is hi, it's boring, it's happy, and then, what can I give myself?" "I have appeared on many programs and recorded many songs, but I still feel worthless and unworthy of mentioning, and I don't know who I am..."
He understood that coating life with sugar does not bring true power, it is just pacifiers and painkillers. He admitted to his "weakness" and said, "I can't bravely face what I truly like, so I'm not so persistent and won't get hurt."
After participating in "The Summer of the Band", Da Zhangwei wrote a new song, "My Deep Love is Just a Joke": "It's better to pretend to be crazy and foolish, than to pretend to be deaf and mute. This is also good, self deprecating and avoiding embarrassment. Why keep talking about these things, wake up and talk nonsense, you should get used to the pain. The pain is so itchy that you can wipe your tears and go to him."
He said that every time he heard the band on stage, facing his heart and singing about things he cared about, he admired it from the bottom of his heart because it required great courage to do so.
The concert ended, and all the fans loudly called out the name of Da Zhangwei, refusing to leave. When he returned, there was no excitement or celebration. Da Zhangwei held his guitar and quietly sang "My Deep Love is Just a Joke" before disappearing from the stage.
