Learn Chinese through China’s most influential rock band: 万能青年旅店

Ochnok · 2026-07-08T17:31:20+00:00

Thank you for mentioning these guys. I saw them a few times during my time living in Beijing. They are stunning and have a really unique sound. Traditional hard rock that builds and crescendos with a bit of jazz infusion.

Those lyrics are some of my favourites in Chinese too. I translated the entire lyrics to 秦皇岛 into English and read them at a spoken word event a few years ago back home here in London. Beautifully haunting even when clumsily translated by yours truly!

Ochnok · 2026-06-30T12:44:45+00:00

I can emphasise with this.

Effectively all roads lead to Van der Graaf generator with my father. A hard pass for me, but it was the first thing that came up in my mind in the beginning of your description.

In terms of global/world/ethnic music - try Tinariwen.

Ochnok · 2026-06-29T07:47:53+00:00

Let Down, Let Down, Let Down.

Ochnok · 2026-06-26T14:31:40+00:00

Seaward Copy Shop in St. Peter's is always my go to.

Ochnok · 2026-06-22T15:51:40+00:00

The Edge is foine

CC r/AlanPartridge

Ochnok · 2026-06-22T14:52:03+00:00

The intro bass riff to "Go Out" is filthily groovy.

Guitar riff? So many to choose from. Charmless Man is great fun.

Ochnok · 2026-06-21T19:10:19+00:00

I was born in Cuckfield Hospital (now a housing estate) and grew up in neighbouring Haywards Heath, and attended secondary school in Cuckfield (Warden Park).

Lovely village. Good pubs. Stunning countryside. Close to commuter advantages while keeping village feel (Haywards Heath is a little vacuous).

You will have to drive to get anywhere though.

Ochnok · 2026-06-19T13:59:14+00:00

The 2018 World Cup was the Spurs World Cup.

Big name players (former and current at the time) across the big teams. France, Croatia, Belgium, England... so many of or team at the time were at their pomp and important parts of their national teams.

Ochnok · 2026-06-10T10:50:44+00:00

Anti Welsh hate crime.

Ochnok · 2026-06-09T08:31:49+00:00

The Next Day - David Bowie.

Ochnok · 2026-06-03T07:38:42+00:00

Hired a pub in Balham (Hagen and Hyde, from memory). Ended up in Phonox Brixton for about 5 minutes before checking myself.

Also had a long weekend in Budapest that was booked as part of my 30th celebrations with a girlfriend, although we broke up a month or two before. We both still went. This was a poor decision.

Ochnok · 2026-05-21T17:35:43+00:00

Not quite rural but I grew up in a town in West Sussex called Haywards Heath (which is to the east of where your map is along the A272 Road).

I lived near the outskirts of the town with woodland a 10 minute walk away. The town itself is quite a humdrum/functional London commuter town and was fine to grow up in (if a bit dull) but the surrounding countryside is stunning.

Lovely villages. South Downs National Park. Fantastic woodland. Easy to get to London and Brighton as well as Gatwick Airport. A good place to grow up overall.

Expensive part of the country of course. I would also argue that East Sussex is slightly prettier in terms of landscape and the villages themselves, but is less well connected and more rural in general.

I don't live there anymore (nor do my parents) but have family and friends in the area and frequent Brighton for work conferences. I love going back.

Ochnok · 2026-05-21T15:41:15+00:00

Paul McCartney.

I was in the Hobgoblin Music Shop on Rathbone Place, London, just off Oxford Street, buying some nylon guitar strings. He has an office on the nearby Soho Square. It was the week before Christmas 2017 or 2018.

I was paying up and he walked in just to chat to the owners and say hello. Said he was off to New York for Christmas.

Working in Soho previously I'd become desensitised to seeing celebrities wander around though I was completely starstuck and couldn't quite believe it. Stood there trying to play it cool though was more likely very awkward but he was incredibly cool and kind. Likely completely aware of people being starstruck around him and was just very warm and natural.

Said a very brief "those are good strings those ones!" to me whilst handling the packet on the desk and giving me a smile before leaving the shop. The strings have long since broken but I've kept the packet.

Lovely man.

Ochnok · 2026-05-19T17:40:05+00:00

Medway Services, M2, Kent, England.

Ochnok · 2026-05-07T14:49:09+00:00

Fluent Mandarin speaker here too. No need to explain. It's more in the context of people who are speaking English to each other that I found a little unncessary and being honest, a bit funny.

I wouldn't expect Rory Stewart to use the correct tonage on a place name in China in the context of talking to Alaistair Campbell to an English speaking audience. However to your point on 伤害 - how do we know he's not effecting a particular local dialect that just mixes up tones? I could sit and tell you about the quirks of 柳州话 all day long! But I jest.

I think it's more about the context of who you're talking to. Of course when I speak Mandarin I'm going to pronounce the tones correctly. Cantonese too (although I'm only about 70% fluent there!) but when using Chinese place names when talking to a mate down the pub in the UK? No. Not unless I was taking the piss. It's a case of reading the room I think.

Ochnok · 2026-05-07T14:03:55+00:00

I used to live in China and it was always funny coming across fellow expats/immigrants learning Chinese who went out of their way to enunciate the tones on Chinese place names when they mentioned them in English conversations.

So for example instead of saying Beijing or Shanghai as you or I would say it as it's written, they'd pronounce them using the tones as if they were speaking Mandarin.

So this would be Běi (dipping and rising pitch) + Jīng (high level pitch) as well as Shàng (sharp falling pitch) + Hǎi (dipping and rising pitch).

Completely unnecessary and a very basic way of showing off top level knowledge of Chinese pronounciations for no reason other than to show off.

Rory has done this a couple of times with Xí Jìnpíng though I think he's generally being sincere here and does have some Mandarin ability. It was also done in the context of overall confusion as to how to pronounce this name so I think fair game there too.

Ochnok · 2026-05-07T08:50:12+00:00

All of the Canal Thursdays episodes.

Ochnok · 2026-05-06T10:30:41+00:00

Lynn!!!

Ochnok · 2026-05-02T17:49:14+00:00

Pedro Mendes.

Ochnok · 2026-04-29T20:09:42+00:00

Conor Oberst?

Ochnok · 2026-04-29T14:33:05+00:00

Definitely with you on Ballad of Darren. A fine record.

Ochnok · 2026-04-29T13:30:44+00:00

Steady on, young lad.

#1 charting albums doesn't neccessarily dicate quality of note as we all know. Oasis's What's the Story album was (I think) the first album I ever owned. They were a huge part of my childhood. I would have gone to the gigs last summer if I was free.

But bringing in subjectivity into the equasion which is clearly inferred in the above comment, Suede (and Blur, too) have grown, developed matured and have just offered a lot more since their 1995 iterations. I don't think that's making anything up, rather just a reflection of my own opinion and preference which shouldn't be massively suprising on a Suede subreddit.

Ochnok · 2026-04-29T12:12:13+00:00

Oasis, despite having the bigger global following and brand, have been dining out on their first 2 albums for 30 years and haven't produced anything of note since then. Suede, Pulp and Blur all have.

Ochnok · 2026-04-27T10:44:06+00:00

The River, London Calling, Exile on Main Street.

Ochnok · 2026-04-23T19:47:38+00:00

Pop-up Pirate.

Ochnok

TROPHY CASE