Nothing to My Name
The song was an unofficial anthem for Chinese youth and activists during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Cui Jian was heavily influenced by Western artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads. The song has also been interpreted as being about the dispossessed youth of the time.
About Nothing to My Name in brief
The song was an unofficial anthem for Chinese youth and activists during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. In its lyrics and instruments, the song mixes traditional Chinese styles with modern rock elements. The song has also been interpreted as being about the dispossessed youth of the time, because it evokes a sense of disillusionment and lack of individual freedom that was common among the young generation during the 1980s. Cui Jian was heavily influenced by Western artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads. He purposely divorced his musical style from that of the revolutionary songs and proletarian operas that were common under Chairman Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution.
He performed his music very loud, as high as 150 decibels, just because Mao had considered loud music disruptive to the social order. The lyrics also express Western concepts of individualism, and were some of the first popular song lyrics in China to promote self-expression and self-empowerment. This put the song in stark contrast with older music, which had emphasized conformity and obedience. Under an unorthodox and suggestive mix of love and aggression, it stood as social commentary with the Communist Party, means the song becomes an ironic response to the Chinese lyrics of “The Slaves rise up, rise up! We cannot say that we have nothing”
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This page is based on the article Nothing to My Name published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 12, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
