Under the blessing of the [Absolute Score Eye], those lines that looked like earthworms poisoned with heavy toxin finally no longer twisted, and obediently arranged themselves in Lin Feng's mind into their original appearance.
The name of this song was impressively written with three big characters—"Thinking Back to Those Years."
Lin Feng patiently read down, attempting to search for a bit of the anger or rebellion that rock music should have. However, reading merely the first four lines, he felt a thick breath named "Millennium Era Non-Mainstream Residual Poison" pouncing on his face.
This was fundamentally not ordinary mass nostalgia; this was Ren Yichen's personal, suffocating "Chronicle of Chuunibyou."
The lyrics wrote:
"Thinking back to those years, who stepped on my Space but didn't leave a footprint,"
"Was it that wolf whose eyes turned red from staying up late to steal vegetables..."
"Thinking back to those years, I was inside '4399's' Flash Empire,"
"Searching for that stickman named 'Xiao Xiao', thinking that was the ultimate of martial arts..."
"My noble Red Diamond Membership has already expired, just like that 'Thunder S' yo-yo,"
"Taken over from the hand of the 'Blazing Teen', which has long since lost its sleep [8]..."
Lin Feng: "..."
He slowly raised his head, looking at Ren Yichen with eyes one would use to look at an endangered species.
Brother, between your handsome face and your brain circuit, there separates a whole Mariana Trench.
"How is it? Does it have a strong sense of substitution?"
Ren Yichen was still self-intoxicated there, gazing deeply toward the ceiling, "Old Lin, I am digging into the pain deep within the hearts of this generation. Current pop songs are all too superficial; only this kind of concrete, subtle imagery can awaken everyone's sleeping souls. Think about it, in whose youth did they not set an alarm clock for 3:00 AM for QQ Farm? Who didn't smash a yo-yo onto the homeroom teacher's instep in order to practice the 'Sleep' trick?"
The corner of Lin Feng's mouth twitched.
No, I feel that although most people's youth also had these things, they absolutely would not write them into rock lyrics and still think this is cool.
Ren Yichen's misunderstanding of "mainstream" was simply hair-raising. He thought he was writing "Glorious Years," but in reality, he was writing "Grand Showcase of My Black History."
Lin Feng turned his head to look at Lu Mingxuan.
This second-generation rich bassist was staring blankly at the lyrics, those pair of dead fish eyes filled with confusion regarding another parallel universe: "Brother Ren... um, when I was young, my family controlled me strictly, the computer could only be used to attend New Oriental online classes. Also... stealing vegetables is illegal, right?"
"Superficial! This is a metaphor!" Ren Yichen waved his hand with heartache and a headache.
Lin Feng sighed, his line of sight falling on the second paragraph of the lyrics.
This paragraph was obviously the "emotional climax" of this song.
"Still remember that afternoon, we shouted 'Ah——' at the electric fan, that was the artificial vibrato belonging to us..."
"That girl wearing a school uniform, with a butterfly hairpin pinned on, forcefully wrote 'Pepsi Cola, Do Not Forget Me' in my classmate record..."
"She is the princess of the Zang Ai Family left behind in the mortal world, I am the lonely guard holding a plastic Dragon Slaying Saber."
Seeing this sentence, Lin Feng's gaze subconsciously drifted toward Shen Linyin behind the drum kit.
At this moment, this school beauty who was usually cool and cold as the moon was staring deadly at the lyric sheet in her hand. That fair face had swelled into a pig liver color, and the fingers holding the drumsticks trembled slightly due to excessive force.
"This sentence is written the best!"
Ren Yichen had not yet detected the danger; instead, he pointed at that lyric with a face full of deep affection and said to Shen Linyin, "Linyin, look, this is written for you. Back then, didn't you like pinning that kind of moving butterfly hairpin on your head the most? Although back then we still didn't understand what love was, that kind of friendship of fighting side by side to protect the 'Family'... isn't it very romantic?"
The air solidified for three seconds.
Shen Linyin took a deep breath, like a drowning person finally surfacing.
She raised her head, her eyes containing not a trace of being moved, only a kind of despair of wanting to pass away immediately. She glanced at Lin Feng and said with a dry voice:
"Lin Feng... if this song becomes hot in the future... no, even if it doesn't, please by all means help me clarify."
"Clarify what?" Lin Feng asked.
Shen Linyin closed her eyes, painfully covering her forehead: "I am also a part of this black history. That year I indeed... indeed was hoodwinked by him, and served as the Vice Patriarch in that so-called 'Family' for a week. But I swear, that was because I lost that round of marbles! It was not voluntary!"
"Sigh, what are you saying!" Ren Yichen completely did not understand Shen Linyin's breakdown, instead laughing heartily, "That is our bond! I knew you could understand this kind of niche romance!"
Lin Feng shook his head.
He suddenly had an epiphany.
Although these lyrics were awkward enough to make one want to carve out a Magic Fairy Castle with their toes, and although these memes were so niche that only middle school 2nd year youths of that specific era and specific circle could understand...
But if looked at from another angle, isn't this an extreme filtering mechanism?
This is just like exchanging secret codes in a vast sea of people. For people who don't understand, this is a pile of incomprehensible garbage; but for that tiny minority who can understand "Red Diamond Noble," "Stepping on Space," and "Flash Empire," this song is simply a bible that strikes directly at the soul!
Isn't the essence of rock and roll just for that small handful of people to revel?
Lin Feng was actually strangely persuaded by one percent in his heart.
However, this one percent of agreement instantly vanished into smoke and dispersed upon seeing the music score arrangement.
If one said the lyrics were a "strange taste," then the tune was a "disaster."
Ren Yichen attempted to integrate Chinese Style and Hard Rock into these lyrics filled with the breath of millennium-era internet cafes.
The idea was grand.
But reality was skinny.
In Lin Feng's [Absolute Score Eye], this tune presented a kind of extremely terrifying synesthesia of taste:
It was like a Western chef who completely didn't understand the essence of Chinese cuisine heard that Chinese dishes stress "umami," so he baked an authentic Italian pizza, then poured a whole bottle of dark soy sauce on it, and finally frantically sprinkled a handful of undiluted MSG!
He thought this was called "combination of Chinese and Western," but in reality, this was called "taste bud murder."
On the score, the traditional pentatonic scale of Gong Shang Jiao Zhi Yu was filled by Ren Yichen with extremely violent heavy metal distortion, and mixed in the middle were inexplicable blues bends.
It sounded just like Su San was on the road to being transferred for trial, when she suddenly rode a Ghost Fire motorcycle, holding an AK47 in her hand sweeping fire at the sky, shouting from her mouth: "For the glory of the Family!"
All emotion, zero technique. All MSG, no ingredients.
Lin Feng put down the "Heavenly Book" in his hand, feeling his temples pulsing.
If this song were really performed at the Livehouse, that effect...
I'm afraid the audience below the stage wouldn't feel this is "deconstructionism," they would only feel that this band's lead singer might need a craniotomy.
"That..."
Lin Feng finally opened his mouth, his voice deep and magnetic.
Everyone's gazes instantly concentrated on his body, especially Shen Linyin; hearing this voice, her body stiffened again, and the roots of her ears became even redder.
"I feel," Lin Feng pointed at that chorus melody that seemed to have added a ton of MSG, and said as tactfully as possible, "The flavor here, might be a bit... too strong."