Our resident rock expert Jenn Wong talks to Marky Ramone, Trent Reznor and more to get the sizzle on THE Beijing Pop Festival.

There’s something cringeworthy about most of the international acts who’ve made their way to Beijing. Foreign bands, prized above all others, come into this country with the swagger of Mick Jagger on a five day bender without the talent or gonads to back any of it up. This summer is set to change that and be the best yet; the organizers of the Beijing Pop Festival, now in its third consecutive year, can pride themselves on bringing the capital city a solid line-up of bands who not only have what it takes to put on an amazing outdoor festival, but are also all legends in their own right. Hey Ho, Let‘s Go!

4 Things You Never Knew about Trent Reznor

As you can imagine, Trent Reznor is a busy guy. He’s excited about coming to China, and as he said last week in an interview for City Weekend, “When it comes to China, it’s not about 'more is better,' or about giant robots walking on stage or whatever. I’m just trying to present a tasteful experience where you can have NIN at its fullest and leave saying ‘OK, I just got my ass kicked.’”

1. Reznor was voted Best in Drama in high school, for his roles as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man.
2. He has publicly admitted to have struggled with depression, social anxiety disorder, suicidal tendencies, writers block and alcohol and drug addiction.
3. He once lived in the Tate Mansion where the Manson family murders took place. After moving out, he went back and stole the front door as a souvenir.
4. NIN once pulled out of the MTV Music Video Awards because, according to the NIN website, “apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me." The dispute originated when MTV officials refused to allow NIN to perform their song “The Hand that Feeds” in front of a blown up, unaltered image of George W. Bush.

Marky Ramone and Friends

Charming, polite and well-spoken, with a thick New York drawl that sounds at once endearing and familiar, Marky Ramone is everything you never thought he’d be.

While there’s been some confusion about the band’s name, the 51-year-old former Ramone is adamant that he be advertised under the name “Marky Ramone and Friends”: “It’s disrespectful to the other members of the band to be called The Ramones.” he says. “If I’m called The Ramones without Johnny, Joey and DeeDee, it rips off the fans. Nobody should be fooled.”

He’s excited about his first visit to China and is especially interested in the local punk rock scene. “From what I hear, there are a lot of Ramones fans in China, and tons of great bands. I want to bring Ramones memorabilia for local clubs to be able to hang up on their walls. We’re going to come to China and play 28 songs, old and new stuff. If any Chinese bands want to submit their songs to my radio show (Marky Ramone’s Punk Rock Blitzkrieg Radio Show on Sirius Satellite Radio) they definitely should do so. We have over 250,000 listeners and I personally listen to everything anyone sends me.”

The Flavor of PE

Politically charged, controversial, socially aware and powerful in every way, Public Enemy are exactly the opposite of who you'd think would be headlining this year's Beijing Pop Festival. The very vocal and eloquent Chuck D, Flavor Flav (who is enjoying a renaissance of popularity due to recent appearances on American reality TV), DJ Lord and Professor Griff are all set to fly into the capital city with guns blazing—and we couldn’t be more excited.

Like so many of the bands scheduled to hit the stage this year, Public Enemy are pioneering legends in all genres of music: They’ve worked with or influenced nearly every important hip hop artist in history and are credited, bizarrely, with making popular the then little known MP3 format and thus changing the face of Internet file sharing. On top of all this, Public Enemy revolutionized hip hop music at its core, shaping the industry and becoming one of the first groups to focus not only on the music they put out, but the image and social message that came along with it. With their 10th studio album set for release this summer, their performance at the festival this year will mark their 20th anniversary. What better place to celebrate than in the People’s Republic of China?

Pop Lineup

With an unbelievable 30 bands making appearances at the Beijing Pop Festival this year, there isn’t a listings magazine in the city with the space to cover each and every one. Even **Cui Jian88, the undisputed godfather of Chinese rock music, will perform, and that's an event all in itself.

On Saturday, along with Public Enemy and the New York Dolls, Brett Anderson of Suede will be bringing a mix of old and new hits, as well as Beijing’s own Muma&Third Party, who are currently signed to independent record label giants Modern Sky. For more on the local front, fresh from their European tour, D22's favorite band Joyside are set to play the Rock for China stage, and there’s no one more excited than we are at the prospect of seeing these guys drunkenly stumble their way through an amazing set. Russia's own influential and legendary Mumiy Troll round off Saturday’s big stage, and the band should elicit respectable crowds from not only the Russian, but also the Eastern European set. At the smaller Hit FM stage, we have another godfather of Chinese rock, and Wang Feng will be headlining, to be followed by Japan’s Doc Holiday & Apache Train, the P.R.C.’s own Convenience Store and the desperately adorable Milk @ Coffee.

On Sunday, the Rock for China stage blisters open for Nine Inch Nails and Marky Ramone, along with superstar Cui Jian and the punk explosions Brain Failure. The Honeys from Shanghai will be playing, as well as Thin Man, who have kicked around China for over a decade. At the Hit FM stage, we'll have London’s indie pop rockers The Crimea, whose Myspace page professes sheer mind-blowing excitement at the prospect of playing in China. Sweden's Mando Diao will be on the small stage as well, alongside local jaunty capped favorites The Scoff and punkers PK 14. Another Swedish band, David & the Citizens, round off the stage and finish off two incredible days of music.

Usually wary of any sort of “famous” foreign band set to make a big splash in Beijing’s music scene, this year's festival is a fantastic surprise of new and old talent—nostalgic and truly thrilling in all the right ways. With such a diverse line-up and set again in Chaoyang Park, it’s going to be a magical, drunken, sweaty, beautiful weekend you’d be a complete fool to miss. Contact the author at: editor@cityweekend.com.cn

The Details

Beijing Pop Festival

Sept. 8-9, 2007

Chaoyang Park, Beijing

Ticket prices:

[advanced] ¥200/day, ¥380/two days, ¥250/day

Get your tickets at: www.piaowutong.com, 400-818-333

Check beijingpopfestival.com for more information

P.S. Like always, City Weekend is giving away free tickets here