At the end of this century and the beginning of the next century, I recommend to everyone the shocking album brought by a real musician and fighter-Cui Jian-" Powerless Power". This album is a summary of Cui Jian's singing career and a summary of Chinese society at the end of the century. I don't want to put Cui Jian's things too high, but this is an undeniable fact. I have to say that Cui Jian is still young, and he is a young man among young people. There are many people who become old when they are young. This is a tragedy for them, whether you realize it or not.

When I listened to this album in one breath, I felt like a needle was inserted deep into my heart and lungs, and then pulled out with blood and flesh, just like every new album by Cui Jian. It can bring me different similar feelings. I remember a Cui Jian concert I attended in Xi'an in 1996. Part of it was already the prototype of several songs in this album. Every time Cui Jian gives a concert, he sings something new and at the same time confuses a large part of the so-called Cui Jian fans.

Let’s talk about the album itself. Different from previous albums, this album uses a lot of electronic sounds and RAP rhythms. The electronic music part was all completed in Cui Jian's home studio. Perhaps it was Cui Jian's first time playing electronic music, and he had too many ideas, so he added too many bits and pieces and was unable to make it harmonize well with real instruments. But this is also the valuable part. He is always trying new things, and he is the one who plays the hardest in this electronic music trend that has set off in Beijing. What must be mentioned is SAX Liu Yuan and GUITAR EDDIE who collaborated with Cui Jian. In fact, every album of Cui Jian's except "Resolution" is the result of the cooperation between these three people. Without these two people, Cui Jian's work would be much paler. The performance team of this album is mostly the same as the previous "Eggs Under the Red Flag", and many parts are also a continuation of the previous album. It can be seen that Cui Jian's transformation is inseparable from the changes and transformation of his collaborators.

Cui Jian's singing part is still based on the Beijing dialect rap in "Eggs Under the Red Flag". This time, the articulation is clearer and the rhythm is more distinct. This form of rap is unacceptable to some fans, because it is difficult to hear what he is singing without reading the lyrics. But the lyrics of each song on this album are the essence of the entire album.

As the title track of the album, "Powerless Power" was performed and sung by Cui Jian alone, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me after listening to it. On the other hand, the last song on side A, "Buffer", reveals a kind of suppressed anger, and at the same time makes people feel the helplessness and coldness of reality. "Helpless, sad, cordial, and tired" are the words that appear most frequently in the song. In the 1990s, which was completely different from the 1980s, Cui Jian was fighting against money, beauty, and a comfortable life. For most people, this is a time when they are lost and unable to extricate themselves, selling their souls for material enjoyment and drifting with the crowd. I think of a song called "HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN" by BEATLES. I just want to borrow the song title here. In fact, the lyrics have nothing to do with what is being said here.

"Another Space" is the most melodic love song on this album:

"Suddenly a voice that shocked me asked me sternly, do you have that little bit of love? Courage gives me true freedom. I said "I love you" unconsciously, and my body and my spirit suddenly flew up. I wonder if it was you who asked me softly again. Do you understand, do you understand what true love is, what it is. You say love is freedom plus your personality."

"Times." "At Night" is the last song on this album. It sounds like a love song, but it is Cui Jian's feelings at the end of the century, just like the title says, it is Cui Jian's feelings at the end of the century. The reason why Cui Jian's stuff is good is that it can arouse people's excitement. But if you don't have the same background, or even if you do, you are not sensitive to the surrounding environment and living conditions, you will not have this kind of scream.

For example, this line in this song: "It's not pain, nor is it competitiveness, it's just some instinctive reactions that have been accumulated for a long time. The situation is too complicated, the reality is too cruel, who knows what will happen when the limit of endurance is reached. What kind of results?" Another example: "I'm not talking about politics, but I'm still a little nervous. Maybe it's because the mental pressure from the past has not been released yet. Don't look at me smiling, and don't think I'm relaxed. I only really feel sad when I go home and am alone and serious. ."

At the end of the festival, accompanied by music, there were bursts of firecrackers and fireworks, and a feeling of nostalgia and happiness still rose. Every time I hear about this place I am so excited that I almost shed tears. Similar things have always appeared in Cui Jian's previous works. In the MTV version of "A Piece of Red Cloth", the background scene is the fireworks in front of Tiananmen Square. The song "Beijing Story" from the last album "Eggs Under the Red Flag" also has fireworks and firecrackers at the end.

In general, what Cui Jian cares about is reality. After "Eggs Under the Red Flag" in 1994, many people including me felt that Cui Jian was old. Because there are too many plots of the 1980s, even though that album has reached perfection in terms of music and production - clean, rich, mature, no domestic production can surpass it. This kind of production is also excellent music in foreign countries. The production of "Powerless Power" is also top-notch and has the consistent style of Cui Jian's records. And it is a summary of China in the late 1990s, including Cui Jian's personal experience. I have to say that Cui Jian is still one of the serious music artists with the clearest understanding and sense of responsibility for society in China today.