Six reasons to like singer-songwriter Joker Xue

This article has been published elsewhere before, and now a revised version is published.

When I first conceived this article, I was always cautious, for fear that some remarks would attract attacks from others. I felt very sorry for a while, why was I so unsure of Joker Xue? I admit that Xue Zhiqian is not the most capable singer, but it is by no means as bad as the people who criticize him and criticize him. A 33-year-old pop singer, in the music environment of the past decade or so, without the help of top musicians in creation, without good publicity and channels, he almost relies on himself to achieve this level of music. Whether it is the value of his work or his persistence, it is definitely worthy of his current popularity.

From 2016 to 2017, Joker Xue experienced a rapid turnaround. From being noticed for his jokes to becoming a topic and attracting attention, Xue Zhiqian has been busy this year and has had a hard time. Rather than saying that he did this because he was afraid of becoming outdated, it is better to say that he has a thorough understanding of the entertainment industry. There is a process to writing songs, and the rest of the blank period always has to appear in front of people in various other ways, not to mention that many things cannot be done by oneself. It’s not easy to do a variety show, but it’s even harder to be a comedian. Not everyone can show off their dignity, and making people laugh doesn’t just rely on showing off. But if you pay attention to his Weibo, you will know that he always posts on Weibo when new items are released in clothing stores or when programs are broadcast, but he posts the release time of new songs early so that there are no paid links in Weibo. , would rather repost it 7 times, but did not write the complete song title the last time, and soon canceled Sina's paid ranking. In order to let more people listen to his music, he promised that his music would always be free and he would work hard to become a better singer and not cause any trouble to his fans. All he cares about is his songs and the people who care about his songs.

Like most people, I saw Joker Xue through a variety show. Later, I came into contact with the audio and video materials of Xue Zhiqian before he became popular, and found that many words, ways of doing things, and funny jokes existed a long time ago, but at that time, such gag methods were not so popular. The thing that touches me the most is that he said that every one of his songs must be good and not just a few. This is what he said most often after he started making music independently, and it was also something he insisted on in the record company, even if the result was bruises all over his body.

In the era of record companies, a singer’s work was the record, and popular singers valued record sales. A common phenomenon is that a singer releases an album with ten songs, including at most three title songs. This is resource limited. It’s not that the other songs are necessarily bad, but the title song doesn’t have to be catchy and popular. The title song must consider many business factors such as market, album positioning, singer image, whether to transform, and competition at the same time. Record companies will not shoot MVs, promote, distribute channels, or chart for every song. In addition to cost considerations, the goal is to release records quickly, which is the same as chasing profits now.

But now, Xue Zhiqian has become popular again, which has brought him stricter requirements on himself. He has been saying that it is getting harder and harder to write songs. We need to understand today's young people, and the lyrics must be close to current life, and we cannot use poorly written words and phrases written by others. His songs must pass his level, and he will only put them out if he thinks they sound good, otherwise he will tear them up. The more you understand and care about something, the more difficult it will be to do it. The reason for doing this starts from the deepest love and respect in my heart, as well as regaining confidence in my own talent. The three words "Joker Xue" will become the guarantee that a song will sound good. This is his confidence and pride.

I think many big Vs have misled the general public: pop music is lower than some music. But the reality is that pop music, especially domestic lyrical pop music, is the music form with the widest audience now, in the past and in the future. This shows that the creation of pop music is not as simple as those big Vs make it out to be. Behind the sound of a song, it does require repeated consideration of many links and details.

The most important aspects of popular music are acceptance and popularity. The initial decision on these two points is the composition.

Secondly, if someone else has a good melody, he will write the lyrics. Being able to write a lyric that no one else has written is also something that Xue Zhiqian is very proud of. But the worst thing about singer-songwriters is that they only have a limited number of musicians to work with. As a fan, I sincerely hope that Joker Xue can cooperate with more good musicians, try more styles, and create more sparks. The most selfish thing is that this way he won’t be so tired when making music, and he won’t have to shoulder all the quality responsibilities on himself. The ongoing eighth solo album will be released before the concert early next year. The current news is that there will be six to seven songs, mainly composed by Xue Zhiqian. Many people think that Xue Zhiqian's songs have a single style, but I think every creator has his own style, and this is not a reason to be criticized. On the contrary, without the training and help of well-known musicians, it is difficult for any singer to reach the top. This is the case for Faye Wong, Eason Chan, and Jacky Cheung.

Excellent singers either have a good voice or good works. If they have both, except for the lack of successors and bad luck, almost all of them are god-level singers or even legends in the music industry. . The general public prefers singers with a good voice, because the sensory stimulation is the most intuitive, and among them, singing high notes is the most common. I personally prefer to call this type of singer a singer. As I listened to more songs, I gradually put the work before the singer. I also began to notice the works of singers with flaws in their voices or singing skills, and gradually discovered that there are many good songs that have been buried in them. . However, there are often not many songs that this kind of singer can listen to. Although in this era of grassroots worship, everyone can go on stage and show off their voice, but in the final analysis, within the Chinese music scene, singers still need God to reward them with a good voice.

There are two criteria for judging a good voice: timbre and control ability. Xue Zhiqian's voice control was better in the early days, but now his timbre is better. His early works had a single singing style, using more falsetto than real voice, and the scale changes were not strong. Although the small milky voice was Q enough, it did not have its own vocal characteristics. Later, I was unable to speak properly for a long time due to pharyngitis (I had problems starting from the third album), so that now my voice has become vicissitudes, but it is not that my voice is broken, but that I have found the voice that suits me. area and vocalization method.

I personally feel the same about this, because I myself also have severe chronic pharyngitis. I used to be able to sing very high notes, but then my range gradually dropped. This forced me to start using my voice in a different way. I used to sing a lot in falsetto because I thought it sounded better than my real voice. Later I discovered that my real voice can also sound good as long as I use it well. I gradually tried to sing in my real voice and practiced how to use the alto and bass.

I am not speculating on Xue Zhiqian's singing method, but I am just saying that I can fully understand that sometimes his live performance is not satisfactory. It is not because his voice and singing skills are not good, but because his voice is in poor condition. As long as you use your real voice, if you don't change the position of your voice when your throat is uncomfortable, there is no way for me to control my voice from being hoarse, broken, or out of tune (only for pop singers, singers like Jiang Dawei are not included) ). In view of the fact that Joker Xue has many daily behaviors that do not protect his voice, such as eating spicy food, eating cold drinks, talking a lot (talking too much really affects his singing), often shouting, and his vocal cords are sensitive, the condition of his voice is not good. A common thing. In the past, he would often post on his Weibo that he had tonsil inflammation and his throat sounded like firecrackers. As a patient who loves to sing, I couldn’t understand more.

Xue Zhiqian's current real voice sounds very good, especially the alto. The alto of a male singer is the most important. Xue Zhiqian's alto sounds better if it is slightly lower or slightly higher, because the sounding part is not very far back, so it is very soft. The most important thing is that there should be emotion in the voice. This is also why others can't taste his songs, because they don't have as deep emotions as he does.

Because many people have said that Xue Zhiqian's songs are all the same way. The main song has a flat alto, and the chorus suddenly adjusts the key very high.

Although I have always thought that this is a singing method chosen for market considerations (think carefully, all the songs that can be spread throughout the streets are this way), because the fact is that popular songs are of this type (the songs that Xue sings most live, The most obvious one is "What do you want from me?") and "Actor" win based on the meaning of the lyrics. Xue Zhiqian's favorite "I Seem I Saw You Somewhere" is as rock-oriented as "Beginners", while "It's Raining" and "Stay Here" are not in this style at all, and they are really not very popular. I don't think it's good for Xue Zhiqian to sing like this. First, singing like this hurts the voice, after all, his vocal range is not very high; second, singing like this gives the impression that the emotions expressed are still very intense, but the actual emotion the song expresses is no longer the kind that you have to do. , it is often ignored. The highest state of singing is plainness mixed with sadness that is difficult to face. The more humble and generous the more heartache, just like Xue Zhiqian's recent performances are all guitar versions of "A Few Miles Around".

Live ability is proof of a singer’s singing quality, including both acting and singing. Just in this aspect of acting, you can almost pass a bunch of so-called first-line singers in the mainland. Therefore, the test standard for Live ability is always the singer's own concert, not ordinary performances.

The concert is a second creation of the song. There are many considerations for a concert. Externally, it depends on the song selection, arrangement, costumes, stage design, lighting, live atmosphere and rhythm. Internally, it depends on the selection, arrangement, band coordination, singer performance, and the significance of the links. The ultimate significance of the concert is whether the singer's accumulation over a period of time can be fully displayed, and whether the personal spirit and the concept to be displayed in the concert can be transmitted to the hearts of the audience. A concert that can meet the above standards is definitely a god-level concert.

Joker Xue only has one concert in his early years, and I have not seen the complete video information, so it is inconvenient to comment. During this period of time, Xue Zhiqian's Live was more in TV programs and commercial performances. My two favorite solo performances are the fan meetings in Beijing and Shanghai, which are similar to small fan clubs. My personal favorite live clips include:

2016.9.23 Shanghai Meetup

Battle Bar Idol "Mo"

Battle Bar Idol "Late Night"

Tmall Double Eleven Party "Beginners"

Live can be practiced, the voice can be cultivated, the ability can be improved, and more importantly, it depends on your thoughts and intentions. This year, Sammi Cheng Xiuwen lost her voice and was out of tune throughout her concert, but she still sang well. Although I do not encourage this, it is a loss to both the singer and the fans, but when there are objective factors (usually the venue cannot be rescheduled or canceled), if the singer can put in 200 efforts to perform, it is the greatest respect for the audience. . Xue Zhiqian's live ability is not the best, which is related to his voice condition, but every time he performs live, he makes improvements in different aspects. He sings with all his strength every time and is constantly improving and improving. "Challenge Idol" The arrangement of the two covers and the arrangement of the RAP were both very nice (Song Minho himself said that Joker Xue always gave him the raps he had written directly). The basic quality of the Live was not that bad, it just lacked a solo concert. It's just a name change.

Any singer who is willing to shoot a music video is a good singer.

There have been a lot more MVs in recent years. Since they are all singles, they will basically shoot a MV and release them together. Personally, I particularly like watching and analyzing MVs. In order to evaluate the quality of the MV, I simply spent some time watching all of Xue Zhiqian's MVs in reverse chronological order. To be honest, I had a headache by the end of it, those early MVs were really killer. In recent years, it can be seen that many of them have been carefully thought out, such as directors Jennifer and Huang Zhongping, who have collaborated many times. Both directors have a good grasp of storytelling and song understanding.

Among these MVs, the most worthy of analysis is "Beginner". With the song itself, you will feel the deeper meaning. There are many interpretations of the MV and the song itself on Zhihu. I will only talk about some of my own opinions.

The text will inevitably involve over-interpretation. After all, the words have to give way to the music, so the words that are originally very obscure can express very limited things.

Let’s talk about the songs first. This song is not a love song, the lyrics are all ironic criticism of reality. Composition is a huge smoke bomb, which is very common abroad and in some hip-pop. It is very irritating to the eyes and ears, but in fact it is very negative. Conceptually, this song is an extension of Ugly. It tells the story of an ordinary boy who falls into the human world and is seduced by the devil.

Ordinary young people are like waves rushing forward in vain, as bright and moving as freshly blooming flowers. However, once they enter the world, they are destined to be bruised and bloody and destroyed by reality.

The young man experienced an impossible love in the human world, and after being injured, he hid in the hustle and bustle of the city. I found that everyone around me has experienced hurt of this kind. When people see the boy, they seem to see themselves as they were before, full of vigor and hope. But in reality there is no blue sky anymore, only covered by smog. Where should the young man go?

There are three types of people in the world, and these three types of people are also the people that young people may become in the future. They are the blind admirer, the selfish provocateur and the fragile admirer. In my understanding, the first two types of people are the result of being tempted by the devil. They are either blind and ignorant zombies, or selfish people who play with others and control others for their own benefit. The envious person has not been assimilated by the devil. The envious person has his own pursuits and ideals. However, the envious person is played and defeated by the devil time and time again. In the end, no one cares about the life or death of the envious person, and the devil is even more dismissive of him. This chorus is composed in the form of a war song, and each sentence is strengthened, which is the devil's temptation to the boy. What will happen to the boy?

This chorus is the devil's further temptation and ridicule of the boy, which is clearly reflected in the MV. Boy, there is no way you can survive if you are so serious. Life is just like this, so why are you so stubborn?

Seeing this, can you feel that the devil is the embodiment of reality. This song is Xue Zhiqian's mockery of reality and society. In the end, everyone should have their own answer to what kind of person the boy has become. Joker Xue also has his own answer. Why this lyric is so dark is because he defeated reality and deeply understood the horror of this process.

The MV materializes real-life scenes, and the concept of creation is also the "love food chain", which is not so harsh. Basically, I agree with some of the explanations on Zhihu that have a relatively high number of likes. When he first arrived at the hotel, the boy was full of curiosity. In the Regret room, a young man enters society for the first time and encounters hysteria and dilapidation. He does nothing but gets hurt. He was eager to escape, but in his hesitation, he fell into a gentle trap again. Crush Room had the greatest impact on the boy. Here, he was seduced by Catwoman and surrendered his true feelings, but was injured instead and almost died. In the Struggle Room, the boy was struggling every step of the way and was injured by a hidden arrow. This can be understood as three types of emotional injuries, or various injuries in reality. In the end, the young man left the hotel dejectedly. After experiencing various hardships, he had become tired and cold. He was no longer the young man he was before.

I really like the strong tone and setting of this MV. There are not many good days in a person's life, and more time is always spent in a helpless place without sunshine.

The early love stories, princes and princesses, may have captured the hearts of girls, but Xue Zhiqian himself also has the heart of a prince. During the transitional period, many ancient songs were produced. Due to my preference for ancient styles, I particularly like songs from this period, such as "The Hairpin-headed Phoenix", "Legend", and "Women in the Red Earth". The lyrics from this period are also better than other songs, but it’s a pity that I didn’t hear them back then. Later, I heard "Love You Deeply" on the radio, and I can still remember it now, but as Joker Xue himself said, this kind of song is very superficial and not as good as today's songs. His style keeps changing, but his mood changes.

I once saw someone writing that the most important thing about Xue Zhiqian’s songs is Li Ronghao’s style.

But you must know that the songs Li Ronghao gave Joker Xue were only "The Ugly" and "Half", and among these two songs, only "The Ugly" became a hit. The music style of these two songs can be easily heard to be Li Ronghao's work. Li Ronghao is the kind of singer with a distinctive and solid style. It is not surprising that other singers use his accustomed transposition method when singing his songs, because the melody is there. But style is a double-edged sword. I have always felt that Xue Zhiqian is working hard to form his style and at the same time de-stylizing it, that is, diversifying and trying various styles and melodies. So I still hope that Joker Xue will collaborate more with other musicians. Of course, regardless of his fame, the most important thing is to get to know him.

The latest new song is "The Martians Are Here" three months ago. What this song wants to express is Xue Zhiqian's current style:

After enduring so much torture, I have already seen through that this damn world is too dark and ugly. But as long as one day doesn’t break me, I won’t compromise and I will live my life the way I want!

This song reminds me of Lin Xi's "News Girl". The lyrics are also in a realistic style. The sharpness of the RAP part of "The Martians Are Here" faces the bleakness of reality, and the slide processing of the chorus highlights the majesty and cry deep in the soul. Lyrics are the soul of a song and the consciousness of the lyricist. Mandarin songs have never been good at writing about the dark side of society and expressing the lyricist's own ideals. The predecessors include Luo Dayou. Today, more and more people listen to this song seriously. Young people of our generation always need some nutritious works.

Postscript: Mr. Scar

I never thought that I would fall in love with a popular singer. It all started from an accident and curiosity.

The first time I heard his song was the first release of "I Seem I Saw You Somewhere". The arrangement is very catchy, the opening is crisp, and there is a transition that requires me to think about the singing method. It is a song that I can listen to the first time. When I read the lyrics for the second time, I thought it was a story about an unreachable lover, a song that felt similar to "1874", but there were a few lines that didn't make sense, so I put it down without thinking about it. It turns out I was wrong. The first impression he made on me was very good. Because he started watching funny variety shows, which he found quite entertaining, and he reflected on whether he had reached a harder stage in life.

In short, Xue has a lot of duality. Whether you need happiness or sadness, you can find it in him. This may be the reason why many people like him. Human emotions and emotions need to be expressed. Living in an extremely divided world will make people unable to see what is in front of them. This illusory feeling is modern What people need is that they don’t know what they are laughing at, and they don’t know why they are crying.

The male artists I like are all teenagers who failed to achieve their goals. They worked hard until they were in their thirties before they gradually became famous and became famous. It’s sad that I never have the discernment to recognize people and to be able to trap them when they are unknown. But one good thing is that by that time, both the work and the character were already available.

He had a car accident in Thailand and was thrown directly onto the road. The car behind him ran over him within a hand's reach. He was the most seriously injured in the whole car. His feet were penetrated, he could not dance, and he still had many scars on his body. It seems like no one has seen these scars before. He talked about all his previous experiences in a self-deprecating way, laughing and joking, but this incident was the only one that sounded sad. There are many things that cannot be relieved by saying them easily. He just changed his approach and turned the bitter experience into a joke script. The scars behind his back will not be seen by others, even in his songs. He uses songs to convey his own emotional outlook, rather than his own emotional experiences. Whether you are interested in him as a person or in his works, you should find a suitable way and channel to release and express your emotions.

For singers and music creators, time is particularly cruel, because inspiration is fleeting and aura will gradually be worn away. Already famous singers, in a commercial environment, almost no one can surpass themselves. Eason Chan's concerts are always done in the easiest way. Even Lin Xi's poetry in recent years is no better than before. It's not their fault, it's inevitable.

Although they are giants in the music industry, my love for them finally became limited due to several personnel changes.

A few days before he released "Martians Are Coming", Pu Shu released a new song. The familiar Soviet style and familiar lyrics were enough to make me happy. I have been listening to Pu Shu since I was a child, and that emotion is irreplaceable. Therefore, I can be harsh on anyone and their works, but I will always be tolerant and doting on the people I really like.

I am also willing to put this emotion into him. He appeared when I needed certain music and certain ideas in my life, allowing me to have a rare singing voice. It was a God-given fate.

Joker Xue's 2017 new song music review collection

Noble? What is Joker Xue singing in "Noble"?

Animal World? How to sing "Animal World" by Xue Zhiqian, A brief analysis of arrangement and lyrics

Ambiguous? Combining music theory and psychology, you can understand why Xue Zhiqian's "Ambiguous" is so good

I'm afraid? I'm afraid, the cherry blossoms are blooming, and I'm reunited with my predecessor. Come