Up springs the wind, down pours the rain,
Buckwheats getting brown, leaves turning grey.
Here spring fades away, there summer is on the way.
Restless in mind, twirling in time, over the turbulent years.
Don’t panic, don’t be afraid,
of the bitter cold, or of the sunburt days,
of the distress and misery, or of the sowrrow and pain.
Don’t panic, don’t be afraid.
Made popular by Jikejunyi, this soulful Yi song is written by singer-songwriter Mo Xizishi 莫西子诗 . It was first sung by a Yi band here. You can also listen to versions by composer/writer Mo Xizishi as well as Zhou Shen and M.I.C.’s Steelo Zhao, who says he wants to write more songs incorporating his heritage using Yi. Steelo, man, you gotta focus. I’m still clamoring for those Peking opera rap songs that you never wrote.
I found this translation on YouTube and couldn’t figure out who it’s by, but it’s better than anything I could come up with. Which version is your favorite?
This beautiful dream is without regrets, so let us never wake.
The promises we’ve made, do you still remember them?
They won’t be forgotten, so let them remain.
Please continue to sing, for the years of our youth.
I was waiting for a MV for this song, but I don’t think they’re going to do that, so here it is. The catchy folk ballad, Years of Our Youth 年华,is penned by ladybros Tan Jianci and Steelo Zhao Yongxin to commemorate the ten years of M.I.C.’s lives together.
The few M.I.C. fans there still exists probably already know this, but their ten-year-contract ended last December, and it was not renewed. Tan Jianci and Aero Xiao Shunyao both signed under Wu Xiubo’s acting agency and will most likely focus on acting. The other three remains in Taihe Rye as solo artists. I’m not 100% sure what’s going on with them because they’re all clearly in love as of this weekend, and seem to not rule out them performing together.
Listen to their other two songs from their potentially last EP here and here.
Out of all the subplots in The Advisors Alliance 2, I’m probably most excited about the showdown between Zhuge Liang (Wang Luoyong) and Sima Yi (Wu Xiubo), as well as the Sima family’s descent into darkness and coup against Cao Wei (that just made me sound sadistic).Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragonwill begin airing tonight on Youku.
Weird out by how brother-like the M.I.C. boys were, Wu Xiubo signed Tan Jianci and Xiao Shunyao on the spot to play his sons.
Wu Xiubo was such a big fan of his family in TheAdvisor’s Alliance that he signed management deals with all the main male characters. That’s right, in addition to Wang Dong (who plays his brother and who you might remember opposite Dilraba in DiamondLover), Wu Xiubo’s two sons in the series – M.I.C. boyband’s Tan Jianci and Xiao Shunyao- now have acting management deals! Don’t worry, they’re still managed by Taihe music-wise.
During the press conference for the drama on June 8th, Wu Xiubo said that they had looked at many actors for the role of the brothers, but none of them had chemistry with each other. Watching Jianci and Yaoyao eat before their audition, Wu Xiubo was struck by how close they were. “Even by looking from the side, the way they ate and interacted with each other were so much like real brothers. I thought it was so strange,” Wu said. He then gave them a script to read and hired them on the spot. So happy to know that M.I.C. still loves each other (especially given the recent Top Combine fallout).
Following playing Sima Zhao, Jianci stars as the Emperor to the Sima family, Cao Pi , in Tangren’s new Three Kingdoms drama. Meanwhile, post his Sima Shi gig, Yaoyao is currently filming an idol drama with Fan Shiqi.
Congrats, boys! Now please go record your group album already. IT’S BEEN FIVE YEARS.
A kiss for you, a kiss for you, a kiss for all my sons!
I use the mountains as my canvas,
I control the waterfalls with my paintbrush,
From up to downstream,
the stream carries my flow
So dope it makes the world jealous
The imagery painted in Among the Peach Blossoms 桃之夭夭 are some of the best so far out of the often rambling Zhao Yongxin. Complete with a rap in literary Chinese, lines sung in the style of Yi folk songs, zhongguofeng-arrangement, and weird English lyrics, the song is like a huge smorgasbord of Zhao Yongxin’s mind.
The song was inspired by a late-night literary talk show that Zhao Yongxin watched that used the title of the song, 桃之夭夭. He loved the imagery of the word, and so a few days later, he called up buddy Zhang Jinghao (Yaoband) and they wrote it in one night. To be honest, Zhang Jinghao probably wrote that best verse since it sounds like his style.
See that waterlily emerging out of the water,
Who can resist but fall in love with its reflections in the pond.
The rainbow among the rose-blush* skies,
Can also know the flames of a mortal life*,
Crazy like me.
How long must I wait
After the clouds gather and the rain falls, *
After the winds blow and the snow falls, *
Who will lose guard,*
When tomorrow’s moon comes,
Who will share a drink with me.
I pick up my paintbrush, ready to compose,
The ink drops from the paintbrush
The tear drops from the heart-broken man.
Among the peach blossoms*
Sailing with the flow
Among the quaint landscapes,
South of the clouds *
I use the mountains as my canvas,
I control the waterfalls with my paintbrush,
From upstream to downstream,
the stream carries my flow
So dope it makes the world jealous *
*cool literary Chinese rap here*
*too hard to translate *
QED: With you by my side, I can block out the entire world.
I’m a well-endowed man.
I’m rich man, the wise will know.
Excite me more,
Stimulate me more
What time is it?
I don’t care.*!*
* 胭脂 is rouge used as blush/lip cream in ancient China. Can be used to refer to feminine beauty.
*人间烟火 Literally the foods of mortals (as opposed to immortals who are too good for mortal food).
*翻云覆雨 comes from a poem by Du Fu complaining about how some people’s attitude to relationships are as unpredictable as the weather
*风花雪月 – originally used to describe vacuous poetry describing the scenery, it was later used to describe decadent lifestyles and romances. Historically used with a negative connotation, the term has been used positively in recent years.
*翻云覆雨之后风花雪月失守 Knowing M.I.C., I’m going to guess this line is a fancy metaphor for either stormy sex, a relationship where one side got tricked into sleeping with the other one, or both.
*明月几时有 comes from a poem by Su Shi that asks when was the bright moon first created? The poem compare the waning and waxing of the moon to the uniting and separation of people on Earth. I translated it using a very literal take to make sense of it with the next line.
*桃之夭夭 is a reference to a Zhou dynasty song in the Book of Songs that compares a bride to the rosiness of the peach blossoms
*Zhao Yongxin is from the province Yunnan, which literally translate to South of the Clouds.
*some creative license used in translating 世人妒之
*!* As I was translating this last segment, it dawned on me that this entire song could just be about Zhao Yongxin finally getting in the pants of a woman he’s like for a long time, and all that gorgeous scenic imagery could actually just be a fancier metaphor than watering your vase in My Place.
I demand a personal apology from Zhao Yongxin and Zhang Jinghao for tricking me.
There’s nothing like summer Hunan TV, someone in a rush replaces someone looking pretty. After a series of surprising upsets in the battle for the coveted summer slot, Hero Dog 2 神犬小七2 finally clinched it with its beach setting and cute puppies.
Set to air on the July 17th, the series again tells the story of hero dog Xiaoqi, but now as a rescue dog who befriends a lifeguard (Zhang Yunlong), a hospitality worker (the spunky Wang Yang), and the owner (Wang Yu) at a beach resort. In addition to love triangles between both the humans and the pets, they must also team together to stop a group of smugglers trying to steal artifacts from under the sea.
Plus, a long-waited song from M.I.C.boyband! The song isn’t their best, and I wish they could’ve used Summer Storm, but this will have to do while we wait for the rest of Steelo’s album drops.
MIC’s Steelo is back with a new song! The song is a duet with Lee Seung-hyun for Qi Wei’s upcoming drama I’m Lala 我是杜拉拉 (airing this Saturday). Unlike people like Benji and SJZGloria, I can’t write about music at all, but I love this song already. Plus, it’s a theme song for a big drama, so big congrats for him! MV below, full song here.
As the boyband with the most racecars per MV, M.I.C. boyband finally landed a car spokesperson deal with Lannia. I’m Young and Possible (Although I keep wanting to sing “I’m Kim Impossible” ) is the third version of the song, following the album version and a magic schoolbus version . The MV is so pretty that I’ll forgive the fact that they haven’t released a new group dance song in three years.
In addition, Zhao Yongxin has recently released two other MV’s, My Own Fault and duet Dying to See You, and Xiao Shunyao released a MV for his drama that may never air, 8848.
I’m pretty sure no other boyband in China could pull off this song live. gif cr:Yama Dandan
After two years forever, M.I.C. boyband finally came back as a group for Only One. The gorgeous future bass r&b song is once again produced by themselves. This song is so much better than I expected, and really shows how much they’ve matured musically. It perfectly shows off their perfect voices (Yuehan and Yaoyao’s voices won my heart in this song). Even the MV is so clean and beautiful and not filmed while they’re drunk in a club.
The song will be released as a part of their album SOLO, which will be the gift item of their photo book. My inner Chinese music industry fan died a little on the inside when I read that, and then pre-ordered two copies of their photo album in retail therapy even though I never buy photo albums.
But all the perfection of their voices and faces aside, the real question is … Does Tan Jianci have a U.S. driver’s license or can we blackmail them with this MV? Continue reading →
This week not only is Zhang Jie back with another pretty theme song, but there are also themes for a string of current/upcoming dramas, including by Momo Wu Mochou, M.I.C., Zhang Bichen, and Tan Weiwei.
