Ben Mullinkosson is a film-maker and skateboarder from Chicago who brings an effortless, freewheeling intimacy to this immersive and sensual study of the underground club scene in Chengdu in central China. The title is enigmatic, but it seems to refer to the imminent closure of a club called Funky Town where his subjects have been hanging out; the darkness is the club’s darkness, which is enfolding and welcoming and reassuring, a neon-detailed night in which nothing matters but youth, beauty and the pleasure of the moment. Mullinkosson is utterly at…
Tag: Music
Biden Ponders Asylum Plan, and the Secret World of China’s Hackers
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Universal Music Group threatens to pull song catalog from TikTok in furious open letter
Universal Music Group’s agreement with TikTok is set to expire in the next 24 hours after the companies failed to agree on issues including artist compensation and AI, meaning some of the world’s most popular music – including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and newly viral hit Murder on the Dancefloor – will be removed from TikTok’s library. In a blistering open letter titled “Why we must call Time Out on TikTok” published on Tuesday, UMG, the biggest music company in the world, accused TikTok of attempting to “bully” and “intimidate”…
Rock ’n’ Roll According to the Chinese Communist Party
The song is one of China’s most influential indie rock songs, depicting a story of despair in a struggling industrial city. But a local Communist Party group decided to rewrite it. What if it could spread “positive energy” instead? A man spends decades working a monotonous factory job. His wife grows increasingly insecure about the future. Their son is withdrawn, seemingly struggling at school. Then a building collapses, and their world comes crashing down. It was a story of disillusionment and hopelessness in the industrial city of Shijiazhuang, and it…
Comedy, Music and Uncle Roger Are China’s Latest Crackdown Targets
The cancellations rippled across the country: A Japanese choral band touring China, stand-up comedy shows in several cities, jazz shows in Beijing. In the span of a few days, the performances were among more than a dozen that were abruptly called off — some just minutes before they were supposed to begin — with virtually no explanation. Just before the performances were scrapped, the authorities in Beijing had fined a Chinese comedy studio around $2 million, after one of its stand-up performers was accused of insulting the Chinese military in…
Canadian pop star Kris Wu sentenced to 13 years in jail for rape in China
A Beijing court has sentenced the Chinese-born Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of crimes including rape. The court in Chaoyang district said investigations showed that from November to December 2020, Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, raped three women. It also found him guilty of the crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity in July 2018, the court’s official WeChat account said. It said Wu, 32, would be deported, although lawyers in China have said deportations typically take…
How Beethoven inspired 50 years of cultural exchange between the US and China
It was a big year for Tan Dun, the Oscar-winning Chinese musician who would go on to compose the soundtrack for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In the autumn of 1973, Tan, then a teenager, was sent to a rural commune in Hunan province to plant rice. China was at the height of the Cultural Revolution. One day, Tan heard a sound from a loudspeaker in the field. “Do you want to hear some interesting music? This is called ‘symphony’. The Philadelphia Orchestra is in China,” a friend said…
China riveted by public row between pop star and former wife
The highly successful Mandarin-speaking singer-songwriter Wang Leehom has issued a public apology to his ex-wife after a high-profile family row that has gripped the Chinese-speaking world. In a lengthy social media post on Friday, Lee Jinglei accused Wang of emotional abuse, lack of care for his family, infidelity and solicitation of sex workers. The accusation drew particular attention in part because of Wang’s reputation as a “high-quality idol” – a phrase applied to celebrities whose private conduct is deemed praiseworthy. Lee further accused Wang of transferring assets under his name,…
Li Yundi Is Detained in China on Suspicion of Prostitution
A prominent Chinese pianist, Li Yundi, has been detained on prostitution suspicion in Beijing, state-run news outlets in China reported on Thursday. Mr. Li, 39, who had gained celebrity in China as a performer and a reality television personality, was accused of soliciting a 29-year-old woman, according to People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party. The authorities in Beijing did not provide many details of the incident, saying in a statement that a 39-year-old man with the last name Li had acknowledged wrongdoing and had been detained…