(Two chapters in one)

"Not employed?"

Kenichi Suzuki proposed this, which surprised Shinji Wajima.

Unlike him, Ken Suzuki studied at Sophia University, a real famous university, among the "early celebrations of science and technology". The future is bright, the future is promising, and the internal appointment of large enterprises is easy to pick up, and it is the so-called talent that is being scrambled.

In contrast, Shinji Wajima himself chose Buddhism just because he was interested in Buddhist culture before graduating from high school, and he didn't think about finding a job or paving the road in front of him.

For the future, Shinji Wajima can't be said to be confused, but it does lack the determination to a certain goal.

Shinji Wajima and Kenichi Suzuki, both of whom were born in the mid-sixties with rapid economic development, are not big families, but they also have no worries about food and clothing.

By the time of the formal school years, the so-called adolescence, it was already after the late seventies.

In the early seventies, college students with ideals failed and became completely disillusioned, and since then, they have cut their hair short and returned to reality.

Takuro Yoshida, the father of neo-folk songs, wrote a song called "Marriage しようよ" (Marry Me) during this period, in which the lyrics read, "When my hair is as long as yours, I will go to the church in the town and get married."

The reason why I want to emphasize in the lyrics that this young man should have long hair to get married is not only a little romantic feeling, but also a symbol of young people's expression of Ge Na in that special period.

Now, what was originally a symbol of rebellion has been given such a tender meaning, because Takuro Yoshida was once considered a left-winged musician, so this song is also regarded as a traitor song by some young people, who think that he has betrayed his ideals.

However, when it comes to leftism, mainstream musicians rarely express these things so fiercely, and musicians are more sympathetic to left-winged youth, such as Takuro Yoshida, Miyuki Nakajima, and Yumi Matsutoya.

Those who are actively involved like Les Rallizes Denudes or the Mind Police are destined to exist only underground. And Les Rallizes Denudes is the extreme of those bands.

This is a magical band whose bassist participates in the Red King's hijacking of planes and flees to the country above the South Stick.

Although the song "Marriage" was regarded as a traitor song by some young people, it became popular after it was released, and even increased the marriage rate that year. In this sense, it can also be seen as a song of reconciliation between young people and society.

In the 60s and early 70s, the students of the company engaged in various activities, and when the activities failed, the students' ideals were disillusioned, "when I decided to take a job and cut my long hair, I also told you that we are no longer young."

For most young people in that era, after their ideals were shattered, they had to return to society and reality after all.

Ideals are shattered, but life still has to go on.

After the 60s and early 70s, when all sorts of things happened, young people who spent adolescence in the mid-70s and 80s formed two extremes with their predecessors.

This generation of young people has no interest in Zheng Zhi and is indifferent to society, and is known as the indifferent generation of "no energy, no emotion, and no care".

Shinji Wajima and Kenichi Suzuki are both young people who grew up in such a background.

There is no pressure of life, so I can do what I want to do more freely. But at the same time, because of the relaxed and class-specific social environment, the matter of "struggle" has lost its meaning.

Kenichi Suzuki, a "successful young man", made a proposal not to find a job, and he wanted to give up his current good future for the sake of his music career, which had an uncertain future and maybe could not even guarantee food and clothing. This choice may seem incredible, but it is not inconceivable that they would have the courage to make such a decision given the social environment in which they grew up.

After the accident, Shinji Kazushima asked him, "Why did you make such a decision?"

Shinji Wajima didn't think about making a living, and in his mind, he had a job, making music, and all sorts of other options, but he didn't have an opportunity to make up his mind.

With more freedom and more choices, people have become lazy.

And Kenichi Suzuki's proposal of "not taking a job" pushed Shinji Wajima behind his back, so that he stood in front of the door of choice and took a step closer to the option of "making music".

But that's not enough.

The two of them, who formed a band as good friends, are now planning to switch from amateur to professional, and Shinji Kazushima wants to hear Kenichi Suzuki explain a reason, rather than a hasty decision made by the fear of graduation and employment.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, and at first I thought that I should go to work first, and go to the LIVEHOUSE with you and Shangkan on Fridays and Saturdays, and I think it's probably a good life like this. ”

"But when I think about it, I think it's a shame if we don't do the concert now. ”

"How?"

"What kind of era is it now?" Kenichi Suzuki asked rhetorically, turning the topic back to the times, "It's not normal to think about this kind of day as if floating in the clouds." ”

Shinji Wajima also felt that it was abnormal. In particular, the two of them came from a rural place like Aomori, surrounded by large fields and forests, and they were used to a slow-paced life, and they felt even more inexplicable when they looked at this kind of life.

"It's like it's going on every day. Shinji Wajima thought for a moment and said.

However, there must be something to celebrate, and such an unprovoked carnival like this is not so much a carnival as a madness.

"If we were born early, when we graduated during the oil crisis, we would have struggled to find a job, and if we had been born later, who knows what we would have been like? ”

Kenichi Suzuki paused when he said this, as if considering the language, "The times don't know where they will take us, today doesn't know what tomorrow will do, the seemingly stable work may not be truly stable, and the bright future may not always be bright." ”

"But the music that we make ourselves, with the imprint of our minds, will always belong to us. ”

Our thoughts are imprinted, and this statement makes Shinji Wajima feel heartbroken.

If life is driven by the tide of the times, then the life of going to work, completing the life of a so-called normal person, and doing music infused with your own efforts, and not knowing where you will go, are uncertain and beyond your control.

In that case, it would be such a blessing to be able to make the music you love and make it a career!

"Originally, I didn't have such a big determination, but," Ken Suzuki said, holding up the Asahi TV letter in his hand, "because I received this, I was able to talk about it." ”

"How?"

"Being able to enter the re-examination proves that our band has a certain level, right?" said Kenichi Suzuki with a smile, "so my self-confidence has swelled up." ”

"If we can qualify for the TV competition, whether we can win the championship or not, it will be considered an affirmation of our level, so I can't help but want to dream of being a professional musician. ”

"Of course, the most important thing is that even if we don't get a job, our lives won't end because of this. ”

Shinji Kazushima also smiled, "There's nothing wrong with dreaming." ”...... Life will not end because of this, but will leave what will always belong to them.

The two partners, who have been walking together on the road of music since they were teenagers, reached a consensus with a smile.

......

September 27.

In the evening, Watanabe Manyumi drove her Mercedes to Shimbashi's recording studio to pick up Shinichi Iwahashi.

When he arrived, he found a shared phone to call his pager, and then went back to the car and waited. The two had already agreed that they would not have to wait for his call. After a while, someone knocked on the window of Watanabe Manyumi's car.

"I've been waiting. ”

Iwahashi Shinichi is accustomed to nature and sits in the co-pilot.

"How's it going today?" asked Watanabe.

"Perfect. Shinichi Iwahashi briefly told her, "The recording of the title song has ended, and now it's the production stage of the C/W song, and Mori Taka-san is in quite good shape, so I can't think of it a few times." ”

"It's still up to you to decide the costume, right?"

"That's a certainty. Iwahashi Shinichi's tone was a little smug.

Watanabe Manyumi listened and teased, "It's strange that you have bad intentions." ”

"Where's that. Iwahashi smiled innocently. Senri Moritaka's list was introduced by Watanabe Manyumi, and when Shinichi Iwahashi exchanged information with her, he occasionally gossiped about related things.

Therefore, it is also clear that Sentaka Chisato will wear a MINI skirt.

Watanabe Manyumi didn't answer, started the car, and drove him to Asahi TV.

......

During the day, the first amateur bands that received the selection letter gathered at TV Asahi and performed there.

The results were not announced on the spot, but they performed in front of the camera as they did when they participated in the rookie audition organized by the studio, and after leaving relevant information, they went home and waited for the admission letter for the next TV competition.

These recorded performance videos were screened by the program team overnight, and the lineup was determined from them.

The reason for this is to maintain the mystery between the opponents and the opponents, the morale of the band itself, and at the same time, it is also more convenient for the production team to screen the bands participating in the show.

The screening by the people of the program team takes into account other factors.

Although it was a talent show that had just started, no one knew what the style would be and what the results would be, but because of the well-known producers sitting on the judging bench, and the opportunity to make their record debut and release singles again, they still attracted many powerful bands.

Of course, just as all talent shows have a lot of people who want to participate, there are a lot of amateur bands, including school clubs, and even amateur bands that have formed temporary bands to participate in the show.

The program was planned by Shinichi Iwahashi, and when choosing a candidate to appear on TV, he also listened to his opinion.

When making the plan, Shinichi Iwahashi circled the two points of "personality" and "entertainment", and suggested that the program team put the strength in the second place and the personality in the first place when arranging the candidates for TV.

"What kind of show do you want to present to the audience?" said Shinichi Iwahashi, "You can't make a very formal, powerful band fighting on the same stage, and the judges are doing professional reviews of the show, and that kind of thing no one watches." ”

Although this is the era when three-minute-a-bowl instant ramen is no longer popular, it doesn't mean that people have changed their tastes and started to like the soup that comes out of the simmering pot, and they want food that is delicious, not junk food, and not cheap – at least not cheap.

"Since the banner of welcoming amateur bands has been played, the last people who are on TV can't all be powerful, or a little flawed, the singing is not very good, and the instruments are so-so, which makes the audience feel close. ”

This point was learned from the chubby young man Yasushi Akimoto. According to Akimoto Yasu, the beauty who can't find fault with it is not easy to get close to.

In the civilian draft, it is easier for "people" to gain the support of the audience than "gods".

"But it's not enough to be relatable, and we're not going to do a family show like an amateur band gala or a trip to Hawaii for the winners. ”

A band with personality, memory points, and a sense of contrast, this is the type of player that Shinichi Iwahashi likes the most.

In other words, these two selections are not so much the initial and re-examination of the survival of the fittest, but the confirmation of the style and personality of the participating bands by the program team.

And the bands that received the admission letter are not necessarily strong, but are considered to have something worth seeing in the primaries.

This seemingly illusory selection criterion also won the hearts of the program production team. They are all old people in the TV industry, and they are all people who know everything about these things, if not they were expected in the morning.

To make a show, there are dozens of people just sitting in the conference room for a preliminary discussion, in other words, it's a bit like participating in a tug-of-war, and among the companions are both strong men, ordinary people, and people with slightly inferior physical strength.

However, even if someone wants to start and someone to the back, after holding this rope, if you want to compete with an opponent who is evenly matched on the opposite side, you have to work hard in one place, and you can't ignore the strength of any one person.

Iwahashi Shin started together, everyone worked together to make a difference, and the others came up with suitable ideas, and then worked together after approval, this is the production team that can continue to operate healthily.

......

When they arrived at TV Asahi, Shinichi Iwahashi and Manyumi Watanabe went to the TV cafeteria for dinner, and after the meal, they went to the conference room to review the footage with the rest of the staff.

The idea was made by him, and the criteria for selecting people were almost also set by him, and now he must be inseparable from him. And Manyumi Watanabe, who was absent in the early stage, has now reached the stage where she has to come forward.

Although the two of them usually meet in person and exchange information at hand, it is still a bit of a long time since they have worked together like this.