1RomanceEB Chapter 46 Forcing a Duck onto a Shelf
Chapter 46 Forcing a Duck onto a Shelf
"Okay, it's clear you have a good relationship with your family." The DJ nodded, then changed the subject, "Let's talk about this masterpiece, 'YMCA.' Where did the inspiration for this song come from? Was it a high school classmate who broke your heart, a girl you secretly had a crush on, or a strange dream you had one night?"
Zik naturally wouldn't tell the truth about this, trying his best to downplay the metaphors in the song: "Actually, the inspiration came from the song title itself. I ran away from home for a while and lived in the YMCA when I was desperate. It was there that gave me a place to stay. I was very happy living there and felt warmth, so I wanted to write a song to thank them and to record that time."
The following interviews mostly consisted of standard questions. Zike gradually relaxed and stopped being nervous. He followed the DJ's rhythm, asking and answering questions. Although his answers weren't particularly outstanding, he didn't make any mistakes either.
Soon, the interview was nearing its end. The DJ cleared his throat, lit a hand-rolled cigarette, and Zeke felt a pang of anxiety. He knew the main event was about to begin—it was time for him to join the DJ in criticizing FM Avant-garde.
"Zick, after all this talk, I have to ask you something real." The DJ exhaled a smoke ring, his tone becoming more casual. "Whose music do you usually listen to on your headphones? Is it old-fashioned stuff like mine (laughs), or something more avant-garde? Who's your musical hero?"
A thought struck Zik: "Elvis, it's definitely Elvis."
This is a solution that avoids offending either side.
Elvis Presley was a pop icon for all people. During his heyday, he dominated the charts and was the pinnacle of online traffic. He was also a national idol. With his recent passing, he naturally evoked a wave of public remembrance. He was a legendary superstar recognized by the mainstream pop scene, and the TOP40 fully acknowledged his commercial status and public influence.
On the other hand, Elvis Presley is the true King of Rock and Roll, the founder of rock and roll, and the pioneer who brought rock and roll from the underground to the mainstream. FM Avant-garde Radio values the origin, pioneering nature and historical status of rock and roll, and will never deny Elvis Presley's status as the founder of rock and roll. He is the source of the rock and roll spirit that they will also respect.
But this cunning answer clearly didn't satisfy the DJ. He raised an eyebrow, and the question instantly became sharp: "So what's your opinion on punk?"
Punk is currently the focus of debate between Top 40 and FM Avant-garde Radio. FM Avant-garde Radio regards punk as the gold standard, while Top 40 regards punk as troublesome. No matter how you answer this question, it is easy to offend people.
Zeke simply pretended to be clueless: "What is punk? I've never heard of that word."
"Haha, stop pretending, Zik! The entire radio industry is arguing about this every day now:"
"It's those British anarchists, the Sex Pistols, whom AOR treats like a treasure and we see as a nuisance. You're at the record company every day, you can't possibly not have heard of them. Aren't you even a little bit curious? Or are you deliberately avoiding this, not wanting to get involved in our war of words with FM?"
Seeing this, TJ frantically winked and gestured to Zeke, signaling him to quickly cooperate with the DJ and curse the FM avant-garde station and the punk band.
Qi Ke didn't want to get involved in this pointless war of words and offend people for no reason.
If Apocalypse were to give out rock songs in the future, he'd have to turn around and try to please the other side.
But he also knew that this was related to the song's play count and his royalties, and he didn't have the right to act like a big shot.
There was no other way but to grit my teeth and continue dealing with it.
"Uh, I haven't heard their music before, and I haven't been paying much attention to it lately, as I've been busy with classes and songwriting."
Zeke gave vague answers, trying to evade the question. He did indeed know very little about the band, only that they had turned Britain upside down.
His impression of the Sex Pistols wasn't exactly good either. Once, his manager mentioned to him in casual conversation that the band's patchwork logo reminded him of the kind of ransom notes sent by kidnappers, and he immediately started swearing. It was this whole mess that caused him to lose the trust of the Sinatra father and son... Tino has a bit of PTSD about this stuff.
But the DJ clearly wasn't going to let him off the hook, and with a smile, he told Zik, "Let me tell you the latest developments: Warner Bros. paid a million-dollar deposit and negotiated with the immigration bureau to get them into the country on the condition that they can only perform in small venues in the South and can't cause any big trouble."
"Oh, and there's something funny. After finally getting to America, their bassist was attacked twice. A Texas dissident called them 'a bunch of guitar-playing rats' and even threw a large bottle at them..." The DJ chuckled as he recounted these incidents. "Zick, do you think this guy did the right thing? What do you think of Warner's actions?"
Zik was shocked: What the hell? They've dragged in Casablanca's old rival, Warner Bros.? And sending these guys to perform in the more conservative American South? Isn't that just asking for trouble?
Is Warner deliberately going against Casablanca, promoting punk, creating news, and disrupting the market?
But he dared not offend such a powerful figure. For a moment, he was at a loss and subconsciously tried to downplay the issue: "Uh, I don't think that's right... After all, no matter how much you dislike someone, you shouldn't throw a bottle and hurt them..."
Before he could finish speaking, DJ secretly kicked him hard under the table and rolled his eyes at TJ, as if to say, "How come this kid doesn't know anything?"
"Aww~"
Zike's heart skipped a beat. Remembering Tino's advice that one should never offend these DJs in the music industry, he quickly changed his mind:
"Uh, I misspoke earlier, of course you did the right thing! What I meant before was that throwing bottles wasn't strong enough. To deal with these troublemakers who are always causing trouble, we should teach them a lesson."
"Oh? That's more like it!" The DJ smiled with satisfaction, then pressed on, "So, what do you think we should do about them?"
Qi Ke smiled bitterly to himself. Things had come to this point, and it seemed that he had no choice but to express his opinion. He might as well go all out and agree with what the DJ said.
"I don't know the specifics of what to do, but I've heard that Texas has a simple, honest culture and everyone owns a gun. After all, the 'Sex Pistols' is just a name. Do they really think they can run rampant in America just because it has 'gun' in its name? The tough guys in Texas know best how to teach them to face reality. I don't think they'll be jumping around for long..."
"Haha, that's more like it!" The DJ laughed especially hard this time, clearly very satisfied with Chik's answer. "Let me tell you something else: the American public is outraged by the Sex Pistols. Their performances received almost no applause, not even close to the popularity of the YMCA. It seems that people still prefer wholesome and uplifting music."
"Alright, listeners, that concludes today's interview. Zeke's 'YMCA' is definitely one of the most incredible debuts of the year, with a beautiful and energetic melody. Zeke, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule and skipping class to chat with us at KRLA!"
"Remember this name, everyone, he's a future superstar. Tune in at 11:10 AM, this is KRLA, we'll be playing this genius's hit single, 'YMCA,' on repeat!"
The interview finally ended, and Qi Ke breathed a sigh of relief, slumped into his chair, his back already covered in sweat.
This radio debut was much more difficult than he had imagined. He had to deal with all sorts of tricky questions and also cooperate with the DJ to criticize FM Avant-garde Station.
He dared not offend the FM camp too much, especially since it involved a record giant like Warner, making every step he took extremely dangerous.
TJ walked over, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder: "Not bad, not bad. For your first time on the show, you've done very well. At least the DJ is satisfied. They'll definitely increase the number of views next."