Ricky Maymi has frequently spoken about the prejudice and discrimination directed at Chinese music, particularly rock music, that he has encountered in the course of his own activities. For example, referring to remarks by Alan McGee and NOFX such as “there is no rock in China,” he has been harsh in his criticism of the tendency to regard Chinese rock as a copy of Western music, calling it “far too conservative and contrary to the spirit of rock.” According to him, such prejudice stems not simply from preconceptions or ignorance, but from deep-rooted discrimination against China. Focusing only on similarities to and influences from Western bands, while refusing to engage with the music itself, could also be seen as another form of the same prejudice. Likewise, he has questioned the attitude of audiences who expect Chinese artists to display a certain so-called “Chineseness.” Chinese music is treated as something that does not compete with Western music, a “safe topic” that does not threaten existing values. A Chinese band can be praised as “interesting” without challenging the hierarchy; it becomes threatening only when it is heard as setting the terms rather than following them. At best, however, this only serves to reinforce stereotypes. Since the 2000s, the Chinese rock scene has developed in a context entirely different from that of other countries. The influence of Joy Division and the Velvet Underground in China is stronger than that of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, or Elvis Presley in the West. It may be difficult to understand the role played by bands such as P.K.14 and Snapline, but the mutual influences within the scene are also an important element that should not be forgotten. Even if they began with the same influences, the sounds and aesthetic sensibilities that artists such as Birdstriking, Carsick Cars / White+, and Chui Wan have developed could not have emerged from Western bands. It is true that music coming from China possesses a certain “strangeness” that unsettles the assumptions of those of us accustomed to a predominantly Anglo-American view of rock music. Those who take for granted a hierarchy in which Western rock occupies the position of orthodoxy therefore tend to see Chinese rock as a departure from that orthodoxy. But what really matters is not how this strangeness should be positioned in relation to existing norms, but how it transforms the form of rock itself. A quick look back at the history of rock and roll, from its birth to today, should make it clear enough that it has kept expanding by absorbing diverse styles and cultures, all while remaining in constant flux. Those who conveniently forget that the founders of rock and roll started out covering the blues are just exercising shallow authoritarianism built on an invented tradition. Call that Western-centric view what it is: a kind of laziness that refuses to engage with the music itself. Anyway, having turned all this over, we Japanese, who like to think of ourselves as part of the West, end up in a weirdly complicated spot, don’t we. For the time being, perhaps it is best to let the following words from Ricky Maymi serve as a reminder. They were his answer to the question “What do you believe in?” in an interview with a French media outlet.

L’Amour, la paix, l’harmonie, la compassion, l’acceptation, l’empathie, l’esprit rock and roll.

Ricky Maymi（The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Baihu）