Today's Links: China v. North Korea, Xinjiang and the USA
PSA: Beware the cat snatchers
Hu returns home to deal with Xinjiang
Coming soon: China's first female astronaut
Xinjiang Riots: With things calming down, time for introspection
The Rolling Stones arrived in Shanghai yesterday and the media noticed. We read a couple of these stories before we got bored.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on how a "mix of censorship, daunting bureaucracy and an immature commercial market" make Mainland China a "wasteland" (read, Michael Bolton, Elton John, Backstreet Boys, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, etc.) when it comes to an international music scene. The story says 65 to 70 percent of the Rolling Stones crowd Saturday will be expats, "the fans most willing in China to spend up to $375 to see the rock band."
The Independent writes about the possibility of censorship at the show and manages to call China's censors "beady eyed." They say it is uncertain whether the Stones will be allowed to play the songs that were prohibited for their canceled-due-to-SARS show of 2003: "Brown Sugar," "Honky-Tonk Women," "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Beast of Burden." The Chronicle reports, however, that despite the largely foreign audience expected, those songs are indeed banned by the Ministry of Culture -- which we assume was on vacation during Ice-T's visit here.
USA Today actually took the time to see what local musicians thought about the Stones show. Li Pang, lead singer for Shanghai band Crystal Butterfly commented on the 8,000-seat venue: "Chinese care more about money than music," he says. "If Bill Gates came here, he'd fill a much bigger stadium." Yu Tian, of The Honeys, added, "The music market is chaotic, full of counterfeit CDs. Very few people need this kind of music." The story also says that legendary Chinese rocker Cui Jian is expected to join the Stones on stage on Saturday. That's kind of cool.
Also on Shanghaiist:
Are the Rolling Stones headed to Shanghai?
Rolling Stones ... Shanghai ... April 8
Do the Rolling Stones know they are playing Shanghai?
Extra! Extra! Train tickets, Rolling Stones tickets and crowded graves
The Rolling Stones talk about Shanghai (briefly)
Image from Yahoo! News.
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The Honeys and Crystal Butterfly? LOL.
if rolling stones dont wanna the local press cover their arrival and the concert, that's ok. but why do they come here? performing for non-chinese in China? that's ridiculous! performing for a minor drove？ Are they too old to think? so just get out of our country and back to ur fucking hometown!! who cares? we have cuijian, we dont need a fucking rolling stone!
I can't agree with you more, anti-rollingstones!
Well aren't you both fortunate you are not going to the concert.
Those people at the concert will have a wonderful time, and maybe, just maybe, your opinion may not matter.
"so just get out of our country and back to ur fucking hometown!! who cares? we have cuijian, we dont need a fucking rolling stone!"
ROFLMAO..!!
- who says china is modern
- who says shanghai is an international city.
- who explains the hundred-people in the queues outside US,UK,european embassies and consulates since 5am in the morning to apply for visa.
there is only ONE PHRASE to explain this attitude by the (small or large) chinese people: "SOUR GRAPES" -- what you cannot get, spit at it. but in your heart, just die envying those who get it. you bitter short-sighted frogs in the well.
(in case u don't know. ROFLMAO = rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off)
I have to say that you are both wrong coz I've been to that concert the day before yesterday! and I've got the ticket before I said anti-rollingstone. And I admit the live concert was awesome. So I'm not the person who is "sour grapes" sorry~~~
BUT WHAT I'VE DONE THAT NIGHT DIDNT MEAN I'VE BENT MY KNEE TO ROLLING STONES, NO!
why?
What they've done to the chinese local media and also the excessively high ticket price were absolutely absurd! Would you deny those two things? if you do , please give me a reasonable explaination, thanks, e-Lan and anti-idiot. I am anti-rollingstone for this.
I don't think you can solely blame the stones for the ticket price. Keep in mind that the venue was tiny compared to what they usualy play (eg Tokyo last week 2 nights each 50.000 people). Imagine what it costs to bring in all the equipment, people etc etc, the cost of the venue itself etc etc and divide that by 8000 you will quickly come to the result that the price for a ticket will need to be higher than normal. Simple economics
by the way
thanks e-Lan for teaching me a new slang
ROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAOROFLMAO!!!
and I cant represent China I cant represent Shanghai I cant represent those hundred-people in the queues outside US,UK,european embassies and consulates since 5am in the morning to apply for visa I just represent myself for justice, can I???
Don't you western people always emphasize on Human Rights? Can't I express my opinion on my own land?
to econ101:
I've counted those stuff such as long distance, the huge staff and those equipments....
but dont you know they had a free concert in Brazil (dont tell me it's only because Mike Jagger has an illegitimate child there!)?
so who can give me an answer about another unexplained question I've mentioned above, the most important one?
If you are referring to them not having domestic reports at the press conference, i really do not know. This is also very odd for me.
In addition to the price question, it isn't only the stones that set the price, it is by far also the organizers!
In any casde i always find concerts in Shanghai to be way beyond normal concert prices, be it for Chinese performers like Jay Chou or any others. Also when Elton John or Mariahg Cary played the prices were very similar.
In Europe you might pay upwards of 40-50 EURO (500RMB) but then it is open, those who come first get in nearest the stage, and it is mostly standing! So very different
The Rolling Stones represent the past history of music, so the youth in China don't know much about them. The high price turn a lot of young music lovers down, that's why the concert in China was meaningless.
I know, there was a foreign communication agency interfering this concert in shanghai, so i think they were stupid. if they do wanna let rolling stones become a real real the greatest rock band IN THE WORLD, they cant ignore the chinese people, and even an idiot know that China is a huge market now. I dont really have any idea about what they were thinking. and i believe rolling stones also have partly rights to this kinda thing...