Located on the banks of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city with a population of around 2.6 million, best known as a domestic port.
Now, according to a recent article by China.Org.Cn, Zhenjiang is about to become the temporary capital of Chinese rock, as it has been named the host of the 2009 MIDI Festival.
Set to take place from May 1st - 3rd, MIDI has been searching for a home since it became apparent that permits in Beijing would not be available due to the 60th anniversary of the P.R.C. and the 20th anniversary of the relase of Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood (in my opinion only the Crue's 3rd best album behind 1981's Too Fast For Love and 1983's Shout at the Devil, despite slipping the word sassafrass into "Rattlesnake Shake" and using a nifty zipper sample in "She Goes Down").
While Shanghai was also (and apparently still is according to some people, and not just as a "sideline leg") considered as a possible site for the 3-day festival, it seems that Zhenjiang's remote location better suited festival organizers.
Despite naming and confirming Cold Fairyland, Reflector, Cui Jian, Muma and Third Party, and Miserable Faith as participants, the China.Org article fails to include any direct quotes from actual MIDI organizers, leaving an air of doubt as to it validity (this internet fad is seeming to last longer than expected, but still the fact-checking process has yet to be perfected).
In other rumor-related notes, there is talk of Deerhoof headlining Modern Sky's Strawberry Field festival.
Hmm, could this all be bogus? Wait and find out I guess . . .
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Zhenjiang also happens to be where novelist Pearl Buck lived for many years.
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Haha, well to be honest, I didn't get it off Wikipedia. But yes, I do love wikipedia. Remind me next time I see you to tell you my Pearl Buck story and how I believe it forever cursed/blessed/condemned me to living in China forever.
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I just happened to be in Zhenjiang this past weekend. Things to note: the slow train takes 4 hours (painful); the SH-Nanjing express takes about 1.5 hours (fast and comfortable). It's a relatively underdeveloped city in the Yangtze Delta region. It doesn't measure up to Kushan, Wuxi, Suzhou, Changzhou, much less SH. If it's gonna be in Zhenjiang, then it will be rock n' roll in the real China.
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Kickstart My Heart! I'm shocked not to see Girls Girls Girls in the top 3, Dan. @fsxmnb the real China? I haven't heard that one for ages, you know, like, only the most underdeveloped parts of China are 'real'. Surely this can't be true ... first of all ...why? Out of all the places in China ... move from Beijing to Zhenjiang ... I mean ..well .... w-h-y?
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girls, girls, girls as a song is killer but the album lacks any real depth past the title track and wildside . . .
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Am I the only one who thought last year's Saints of Los Angeles was their best? That song "White Trash Circus" is classic.
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Dear readers, it has come to my attention that the China.Org.Cn article is actually a translation of a Sina.com article which paraphrases MIDI school founder Zhang Fan. The article goes on to list Brain Failure, Thin Man, SUBS, Kaiser Kuo' Spring & Autumn, Yaksa, and Honey Gun. Actual facts however, remain to be seen . . .