radicalducati Chapter 43 Full Speed Ahead
Chapter 43 Full Speed Ahead
One morning a week later.
Marco, who had already started working in Casablanca, drove his Mercedes steadily on his way to the French school. Zik leaned against the passenger seat, reached out and turned on the car radio, eventually stopping at a TOP40 pop music station with a very wide coverage in California.
Two witty DJs on the radio were chatting about a hot topic, taking turns to sing along, creating a lively atmosphere.
The radio landscape in the United States has always been clearly divided, with two separate and mutually hostile ecosystems.
The TOP40 mainstream pop charts are the main battleground of the commercial music scene, focusing on chart traffic, network resources, and chart promotion, with everything geared towards commercial popularity.
Meanwhile, FM progressive rock radio stations, led by the AOR (Album Oriented Rock) alliance, hold fast to their territory of art rock and niche independent music, competing on style, content, and listener word-of-mouth.
The two camps are vying for audiences and GG resources, with opposing stances and a long-standing mutual dislike, almost to the point of irreconcilable conflict.
DJ Frankie started by teasing, "...So, Scott, have you heard? Those British anarchist bastards—the Sex Pistols—are planning a tour in the US. And those rock radio stations at AOR, who always talk about their artistic taste, are now licking their boots and fawning over them like crazy."
The DJ named Scott scoffed on the spot, full of disdain: "Ha! Don't even mention those hypocrites from AOR. They always claim to have high aesthetic taste and uphold the true essence of art, but they've turned these few foul-mouthed, troublemaking street thugs into rock gods. It's ridiculous."
"You know what, one problem after another," Frankie chimed in. "First, EMI Records quickly terminated their contract, and then their new label, A&M Records, also announced a split. You think that's the end of it? Virgin Records, which took over, is also avoiding the situation like the plague. Nobody wants to get involved in all this trouble."
Scott picked up the thread, his tone becoming increasingly sarcastic: "He threw chairs at the audience, instigated fights, openly mocked the Queen of England as an idiot, was arrested by the British police several times, had his records banned by radio stations in many places, and even his live performances were explicitly prohibited..."
"For someone like this to be touted as avant-garde and rebellious art by AOR is simply a joke. They're just a bunch of lunatics who've been dropped by major record companies and are constantly getting into trouble and being arrested."
"I must remind all listeners," Frankie said, his tone becoming more serious, "that this is a dangerous group of people who openly proclaim themselves antichrist, advocate anarchism, and whose life motto is to cause destruction everywhere."
"To be honest, it sounds really disheartening that such a group of people are coming to tour the United States."
"But the good news is," Scott suddenly changed the subject, unable to suppress a laugh, "that the US embassy in London has made it clear that they've refused to issue them entry visas, effectively shutting the door on them."
"Oh, this is the first time I've genuinely wanted to say that the government did the right thing this time!"
The next second, the radio crackled with unrestrained, maniacal laughter from the two men, clearly already aware of the visa rejection and their earlier musings were just a pretense to amuse the listeners.
After the laughter subsided, the conversation drifted off again.
"Speaking of which, aren't these the kinds of people Jesse Jackson should really be boycotting? These guys don't even want the government, let alone politicians."
"What do you mean by that?"
"His actions in Chicago, shouting about blacklisting lowbrow music and launching moral boycotts, are ultimately aimed at building his reputation and paving the way for a future political career, aren't they?"
Scott scoffed, "If you ask me, these so-called moral guardians are all incredibly hypocritical. On one hand, they fantasize about Donna Summer, and on the other hand, they stand on their moral high ground, using the most vicious words to curse her music for being too unrestrained and explicit."
"Exactly," Frankie chimed in. "They treated Diana Ross the same way. These guys just can't stand women being sexy, they can't stand them living a glamorous life."
"I bet twenty dollars that Jesse Jackson has slept with Donna Summer posters more than once in private."
"Ha~ I'm not betting with you. Unless it goes up to a hundred."
"One hundred dollars?"
"No, a hundred times! Hahaha!"
After another burst of unrestrained laughter, the DJ brought the conversation back to the main topic.
"Ahem, okay, enough joking. Speaking of Donna Summer, Casablanca Records just released a new song recently, and I guarantee it will blow up this morning's rush hour."
"Oh? Which song is it? I didn't receive any advance notice."
"I think friends from New York should be familiar with it. The next song is for everyone stuck in traffic during the morning rush hour, from the band Village People - YMCA! Six energetic young guys, absolutely catchy."
A burst of energetic music started playing, instantly creating a cheerful and uplifting atmosphere.
Zik cleared his throat and turned to look at Marco, who was driving.
Marco paused slightly on the steering wheel, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Both of them knew that today was the day "YMCA" officially launched on various radio charts. Neil Bogart had invested heavily in promoting the song, with the entire Casablanca Records team mobilized and resources poured in, determined to push the song to the top.
The song, which was only a little over four minutes long, finished playing quickly.
The two DJs on the radio were lavish in their praise, practically extolling the song to the heavens.
"Absolutely stunning! This is an absolute masterpiece of contemporary disco production; the arrangement, rhythm, and atmosphere are all impeccable!"
"Casablanca never disappoints, creating another disco miracle. The future of this new band, Village People, is limitless."
At the end of the show, the DJ concluded by saying, "This is music that truly resonates with American tastes and values—healthy, uplifting, lighthearted, and fun. You don't need to rack your brains to figure out the deeper meaning; just sway to the beat."
"That's right! No need to pretend to be profound, no need to pile up concepts, as long as it can make everyone want to get up and dance, then it's a truly good song."
Zeke turned off the radio, and Marco finally couldn't help but speak up: "Zek..."
"Otherwise, where do you think the Mercedes you drive and the cliffside cabin you live in came from?" Zik raised an eyebrow and replied casually.
Marco held back for a long time before honestly revealing his true feelings: "To be honest, I was secretly wondering last night if you had secretly hooked up with some rich sugar mommy, that's why you're doing so well all of a sudden."
"screw you!"
Just then, the car slowly came to a stop at the school gate. Zike raised his hand and punched Marco's arm, grabbed his schoolbag, and got out of the car.
Marco rubbed his arm, which had been punched, rolled down the car window, and whistled, "This is your new school? Wow, these Frenchmen really know how to enjoy life. Look at all those palm trees."
Zik glanced back at the students in their uniforms, their manners impeccable: "Yeah. I know this place doesn't look good. I'd better play the good boy and at least get through to graduation. Don't mess this up."
"Okay, see you after school." Marco waved with a smile. "If anyone bullies you, remember to call for help anytime."
"Get lost."
Zik laughed and cursed, then turned around and slammed the car door shut.
Sitting down at the table, Qi Ke secretly sighed, realizing that he had previously underestimated the importance of learning.
Aside from math, a subject with no pressure, and physical education, which isn't a problem either, he needs to work hard to catch up in the other academic subjects. The most crucial issue is that the New York State textbooks are vastly different from those here, with completely different arrangements of knowledge points, meaning he has to start from scratch for most of the curriculum.
However, he is now full of enthusiasm and motivation. He studied the textbook until the early hours of the morning last night and is still full of energy today, without feeling sleepy at all.
The only thing I've been longing for is French tutoring, which is progressing only so-so.
Judy, who promised to tutor him, failed to deliver on her promise even for a single lesson. This tomboy is now completely tied up with a schedule, rushing to various event venues as soon as school is over every day, sometimes even missing classes during the day, leaving him with absolutely no free time.
Zeke couldn't bring himself to urge her. He'd heard that "The Castle" had a dismal opening at the box office, falling far short of Disney's expectations. The producers, Disney executives, and even Mrs. Foster, who was also Judy's agent, were all frantic, desperately trying to fill her schedule with promotional appearances to salvage the box office performance.
With a packed schedule of entertainment appearances to keep up with her schoolwork, Judy was under immense pressure. Running between the two, she was already feeling overwhelmed.
Compared to himself, she was clearly in a much worse situation, so Qi Ke simply put the tutoring aside for the time being, not wanting to add any more burden to her.
The Sirens, far away in New York, are in a similarly dire situation.
Casablanca's legal team had just completed a trademark search for "Siren," and the results were incredibly disheartening: a band had already registered the name, making it illegal for them to use. They were forced to abandon their hard-earned reputation and rack their brains for a new name.
Overnight, the situation became absurd and frustrating.
They rose to fame in New York's disco scene less than a month after their live performances, and their hit song "YMCA" quickly became the lead single from Village People's album; now they can't even continue using the band name that they relied on for their success.
All that hard work, and in the end it all benefited others, even the title was handed over to someone else, it was truly a miserable experience.
However, some good things did happen. On the evening of January 10, NBC aired a one-hour special, "Hype and Glory Land," hosted by star anchor Edwin Newman, during prime time.
The camera delves deep into the heart of the entertainment industry, focusing the spotlight on the most extravagant successes and extravagance of this era.
The band KISS appeared in their signature makeup to announce that they would be making a TV movie called "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park"; Peter Guber, in an interview, spoke candidly about the next project that the film and television division had already started: Guber had acquired the film adaptation rights to Billy Hayes' 1977 bestselling novel "Midnight Express".
This episode laid bare the industry's superficiality and Casablanca's ambitions.
For a long time, "hype" has been almost synonymous with Casablanca's public image, and the outside world has always regarded it as a company that only creates gimmicks.
But this time, as the show aired, the tide turned quietly, and "glory" finally began to replace doubt and become the main theme.
When the news reached the Sunset Boulevard office, the receptionists were gathered around the phone, repeatedly requesting that YMCA play.
Upon learning of the show's enthusiastic response, the entire company was overjoyed.
Neil Bogart roared into New York over the phone, his voice so loud that Zeke could hear him across the hallway.
Everyone was convinced that the positive buzz generated by the media endorsement would help the new single overcome all obstacles.
Casablanca, like a great ship, is sailing at full speed, riding the wind and waves.