This weekend I had a somewhat embarrassing and in retrospect hilarious experience. A fellow from Liaoning TV asked me to go on a show called 生长 and talk about songs students like to listen to on campus. They also wanted me to sing a Chinese song and an English song. I’m terrified of singing in front of people, but I agreed to do it because I don’t like not doing things just because I’m afraid.
For the Chinese song I chose Xue Cun’s 星期三的第二堂客, which I find light and funny, and for the English song I chose Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl, because I think it’s a fun song that every generation since the sixties has discovered and claimed as its own. Also, both songs are pretty easy to sing. š
When I got to the recording studio, however, I discovered that the music they had was different from what I’d heard before. The Brown Eyed Girl music was a horrid Muzac version that was barely recognizable, and the Xue Cun song was set to a keyboard instead of a guitar. I’m musically-disadvantaged, and I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to adjust to either of them. In the end, I worked with the keyboardist to struggle through the Xue Cun tune. My version was both out of tune and off beat, and halfway through I forgot the words. For the Van Morrison song I substituted the Wesleyan Fight Song. Yes, the Wesleyan Fight Song.
The conversation part was fun, though, and, in retrospect, I’m glad I had the chance to share my school spirit.