Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 153 The Scent of Summer's Deepening

Chapter 153 The Scent of Summer's Deepening (3)

Kang Zhihong frowned immediately.

Because right after the chorus begins, the entire song takes on a completely different style.

"Alone and isolated, yet united in spirit, walking alone, yet enlightened, with countless descendants as their guiding principle, like a dragon traversing every nook and cranny, graceful and elegant, tears streaming down one's face, chattering incessantly, neither mediocre nor worthless."

Snapped!
He immediately pressed another pause button.

"This part seems fine to listen to, and I even find the melody very catchy. It gives me a pleasant surprise as it connects to the opening chorus, without letting my expectations and emotions drop. This is actually a very impressive performance."

After all, while starting with a chorus may seem clever, it actually carries a high risk and a significant danger. If your second chorus is too mediocre, or even just continues the same key variation, then you won't have that wave-like feeling. Instead, you'll end up with an extra chorus compared to others.

Modern music, by its very nature, has a cyclical structure, a main-sub-main-sub-main pattern, which is repetitive. Repetition itself lacks surprise and can become boring, let alone when you repeat it more than others.

But Xia Shen didn't. He wrote this song with two choruses, most of which are different in melody. This was very clever, and both of them were very catchy.

But where does the problem lie? It lies in the lyrics!
The lyrics are a bit too repetitive. Although they seem plausible at first glance and sound similar to the lyrics, they are...

In reality, the lyrics have no direct connection, and the meanings are even nonsensical. They are just a combination of seemingly unrelated, obscure characters, forced together. Moreover, some of these obscure characters are not actually that obscure; they are the kind that are somewhat familiar to people.

Snapped!
He pressed play again.

“卬，咄嗟，叠躞，大耋，饕餮，囹圄蘡薁觊觎龃龉，睖娥，鼯轩怙恶不悛，其靁虺虺，腌臢孑孓，陟罚臧否针砭时弊，鳞次栉比張一翕。”

The paragraphs follow the same logic.

This time, however, Kang Zhihong no longer frowned; instead, he seemed to give an "oh" response.

Snapped!
Press pause.

"I was wrong. Perhaps we shouldn't dwell on whether the meaning of the lyrics in this long chorus is consistent with each other. In fact, Xia Shen had already given us the answer in the lyrics before that."

The goal is to let the world know that every stroke of the Chinese characters tells a story.

The purpose is to introduce, and the core is to let the world know about Chinese characters, which is a demonstration.

Kang Zhihong said, "Xia Shen probably thinks that way."

Next, let's continue listening.

Soon, I finished listening to the song "Rare Characters".

"Next is the scoring section," Kang Zhihong said, beginning his evaluation: "This song, 'Rare Characters,' is the title track of this album. As a title track, in my opinion, I would give it an 85, which is an excellent score. Perhaps, I mean perhaps, this song might not be considered a good work by some professionals because it might have some inaccuracies in its lyrics."

However, the overall logic makes sense, and you can't say that this kind of song is a failure when it comes to Xia Shen. On the contrary, it's perfectly normal for him to be able to write something like this.

We music critics in the industry have a special term for this. We generally call this type of song "Xia Shen's style music". Believe me, if judged by the listener's perspective, this song is definitely an excellent work. Xia Shen is undoubtedly a person with extremely high creative level and creative talent.

However, he would never rely too much on his high level of expertise. He is a very smart person, he knows what the market wants, and he can always produce the most suitable product at the most appropriate time.

The only point of improvement for this song is that if the chorus could introduce the unfamiliar characters while also making their meanings interconnected and maintaining the rhyme and pleasing sound, it would be perfect and would score full marks.

However, this is too demanding and impossible to write; the difficulty will be infinitely increased unless rhyme and sound quality are disregarded.

The title track is good, and I predict it'll be a 100% hit because it's the quintessential summer-themed music! It fits the current era perfectly.

Next, he turned his attention to the remaining songs.

"Treading Mountains and Rivers", "Parting Sorrow", "The Other Side of the River of Oblivion".

As he listened to the songs, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

They became increasingly silent.

After listening to the three songs, he remained silent for a long time before saying something.

"Honestly, if these songs weren't all written by Xia Shen, I would have already started cursing them. What kind of garbage are these three songs!"
Of course, if someone else were writing this, I would immediately start criticizing them like this.

It's such terrible, absolutely awful. Anyone who could write something like this could say goodbye to their music career.

but!

The person who wrote them is called Xia Shen. I dare not criticize him because this jerk is truly talented, and he deliberately writes these kinds of songs!

Kang Zhihong said, "From a professional perspective, these three songs are completely mass-produced songs with no technical content."

However, they all have one advantage: they are extremely simple and catchy. You might listen to them with a little effort, or even without that effort, you can sing a few lines immediately after just a short listen.

That's what's so special about Xia Shen, that's what makes Xia Shen's style of music so amazing. You know his songs are very Tang-style, and he knows that, but he deliberately makes you feel that way. After listening to him for a while, we know that he wants us to think that way. Kang Zhihong slowly exhaled and rubbed his temples.

The comments section was already buzzing with laughter.

"Should I hit you on the head? Are you stupid?"

"It's okay, we're used to it. It's no secret that Xia Shen stuffs history into his albums. He's really good at tormenting fans with this stuff, but I have to say, it's really addictive. These songs are no exception. My head starts buzzing after just one listen, and I can't forget them."

"I have always suspected that Xia Shen may not have come from the Shanghai dialect, but rather from a communication studies background."

"Unforgettable +1, these songs are bound to be hits."

"Hey! You've been listening to albums produced by Xia Shen, so it's perfectly normal for you to have a few snacks. It's no big deal."

"However, judging from Xia Shen's style, his albums cannot be judged solely on the listening experience at one time. For example, if one song you hear is a masterpiece, the next one may not be a masterpiece."

For example, this song might be history, but the next one could be a killer move.

"Keep listening, Xia Shen's album can't possibly be without a big surprise."

Kang Zhihong said, "Hopefully, for now, I can only define this album as one specifically for opening up the market."

Then, he clicked on the next song.

That is, "Recollections of the Nine Gates".

First of all, the sound of the xiao (a type of vertical flute) is completely different from the other instruments used in the music.

In addition, there are guzheng and piano.
"A single song can sway a towering building, a single glance can foretell a lifetime of turmoil; all that remains is the treacherous and unpredictable flow of events."

This melody is melodious, lingering, and richly embellished; it is low and deep, with lingering and resonant transitions.
until
"I bow to the altar, and then to that place, where we meet again amidst the torrential rain and desolation."

"Actors are often tragic, pitifully, a deep and old affection remains, yet all the actors in their robes are old and worn, the tales of the underworld never end, and a play without backbone is hard to control."

Kang Zhihong was stunned.

Holy crap? The art style is different now?

One song ends, then the next.

Ten Years in the Human World

The serene sound of the guqin blends with the intense electric guitar riffs.

"Light, who lit the candle to illuminate the maze set up by time? Light, changing the positions of light and darkness, flowing freely."

until.

In the end, I was actually grateful that the setting sun still lingered on me, too late to tell a dramatic story—

"Hiss—" Kang Zhihong gasped, "Wang Defa?"

Something's wrong! Something is very wrong!
Read on.

The last song is "Ten Thousand Frontiers"!
"The red sun rises in the east, its great road is filled with rosy light."

How fortunate I am to have been born into your arms, to share your bloodline!