Midi Music Festival: Two Towns, Ten Years, Twice as Good – Arts & Entertainment

Here's a Reason response to the last story I posted about the Dylan concert: "It would really be news if he had played 'Blowin' or ''Times'--either of them.

Long-time Shanghai rockers (est. 1994!) Crystal Butterfly have announced the release of a new album and NeochaEDGE has a couple of tracks on display. They were the first band who made me realize not all modern Chinese music sucks -- something that's repeatedly been proven to me in the years since.

Jonathan Campbell moved to Beijing in 2000 to study Chinese and "figure out what to do with" the Master's Degree in International Studies he received from the University of Washington. Almost immediately, he was thrust into China's fledgling rock music scene, first as a drummer, and later as a writer, promoter and agent. Red Rock: The Long, Strang March of Chinese Rock & Roll is his first book.

Original film soundtracks have never been considered a potential source of profit by mainland Chinese filmmakers. Their movies, especially the big-budget blockbusters, favour orchestral scores to leave the viewer breathless with emotion during key scenes. Taiwanese and Hong Kong films tend towards gentle, sweet tunes to convey more subtle sentiments.