Representations of Chinese Rock : An Analysis of Contemporary Reviews of Chinese Rock-Groups

Abstract

In this paper I will try to address tendencies of Orientalist representation found in certain examples of Western English-written album-reviews. When reviewing Chinese bands some music-critics have reduced contemporary Chinese rock-bands to merely being copies of Western groups. (Both good and bad) Of which some groups only seem to deserve attention because they were part of a Western protagonist’s pop-cultural “discovery” - a discovery by the West for the West. Often the protagonist (journalist, writer or compiler) is highlighted as an outstanding individual because he or she found something “rare” to present to a Western audience. I will argue that representations such as these reinvigorate Orientalism, as Edward Said defines the term. In addition, Chinese bands have sometimes been presented as under-developed; not only musically - as mere copyists - but also culturally; as members of a culturally “under-developed” state. In that way certain Western music-journalists contribute to create a discourse which furthers the conceived cultural-hegemony of the “West” over the “East.” My analysis of album-reviews published on the Internet will also try to show a tendency among certain music-journalists to compare Chinese bands solely on the basis of Western rock-tradition and Western bands. In regard to this I will address problems that might occur when one doesn’t take time to familiarize oneself with Chinese rock within its own context. I will also try to address examples of journalists placing Chinese bands on a cultural evolutionary scale of development. Some bands are depicted as “needing” more time to mature before they can live up to “our” standards. In some cases, certain journalists have predicted that China might possibly foster some good rock bands, but only after much “needed” future development. At worst, this implies that Chinese musicians at present are unaware, or ignorant of their current social and political environment; a historical development the journalist of course fully understands. An analysis of a selection of album-reviews from the period 2004-2011 will hopefully shed some light on some important aspects of Western music-critics’ representations of Chinese rock-bands. To help contextualize these tendencies within an East Asian context I have also done additional comparative analysis of contemporary Western reviews of Japanese rock-groups.