Semaine du 7 juillet 2008 / Week of July 7th, 2008
Zhongnanhai 中南海, by Carsick Cars.
On tonight’s show (from 22:30), I am presenting a song from Beijing band Carsick Cars. Whoever I hung out with, locals or expats, the name of this band would always come up in conversations. They are apparently appreciated the most by foreigners, for whatever reason. Are dubbed the Sonic Youth of China (having toured with them in the past).
Zhongnanhai (中南海) is perhaps their most well-known song. Fans throw cigarettes on stage whenever this song is performed live in a show. It primarily refers to a Chinese brand of cigarettes called the same thing, as sung in the song (“Who the hell smoked my Zhongnanhai”), and if you bend it, may refer to the place where Chinese leaders live (sort of their equivalent of the White House). Literally, Zhongnanhai means “Middle South Sea”, which is in fact a lake in Central Beijing, just 200m south-west of the Forbidden City.