Rock 'n Roll, baby!

Over here in "The West" there is a great tradition of famous figures in the music business living the Rock and Roll lifestyle; the drugs, the sex, the general over-indulgence, and just all-round wacky behaviour. Ever since the 1950s there has been a blossoming of creativity in the musical realm that stems from living life on the edge and pushing the boundaries of culture. Elvis swayed his hips in '56, The Beatles grew their hair long and sang about drugs in the '60s. David Bowie decided to dress like, erm David Bowie in the '70s and sang about Spacemen. And the Rolling Stones continue to live their Rock 'n Roll lifestyle up to the present day whilst continuing to play sell-out concerts.




And now Michael Jackson is making a comeback. With his fake hair, fake nose and (probably) fake skin, is there anyone who is more wacko in the world? And has anyone sold more records than Thriller?

Now let's look to "The East". In the music industry over there, which artists do we have who truly innovate, who truly live their lives in the spirit of Rock 'n Roll and who record music that makes them feel good, as opposed to music that's already been tried and tested by Phil Collins and will sell the most copies to Mr and Mrs 2.4 children?

It's a pretty common opinion that with its huge population and resources the future is in The East, and we're now looking at China with hopeful eyes to be able to save the world's economy.

But forget that for a game of soldiers, when are we going to see a Chinese artist who is truly Rock 'n Roll to shine a light and kiss the sky of popular music? I fear we Chinese people are nothing more than cannon fodder for law school, medical college and IT courses.