Free Incensed by Ed Lin Page A

young people, even though I once was one myself, but I do know you’re supposed to let babies get their way. Once they started crying, it was almost impossible to make them stop. All I could do was sigh and look away. I’ve noticed that Whistle and Gao were already well-versed in this tactic.
    Mei-ling took out her phone in a dramatic gesture and fiddled with it.
    â€œTurn on the Bluetooth, Whistle,” she ordered.
    Some awful sounds began to throb out of the SUV’s speaker system, synthesized dance music with layered vocals so devoid of character they could all belong to the same robot. The lyrics seemed to be about finding someone to kiss.
    I yawned. Music of this ilk was popular now and was destroying the finest young minds of East Asia. Mei-ling bounced to the beat.
    â€œWhat do you guys think?” she squealed.
    â€œIt’s good,” offered Gao.
    â€œYeah,” said Whistle. “Even better than the other one you played.” Mei-ling gave a measured smile and turned to me.
    â€œAnd what do you think, Jing-nan? I know you’re a big music fan.”
    â€œHow do you know that?”
    â€œBig Eye told me. He said you never stopped listening to Black Sabbath.”
    â€œYeah, that was when I was young. My tastes changed as I matured. I’ve moved on from Sabbath and metal in general.”
    â€œTell me what you think of this song!”
    â€œIt’s not my kind of music at all.”
    â€œYou don’t like girl singers, huh?”
    â€œIt’s not that.” I shifted in my seat and turned to face her fully, so there would be no misunderstandings. “I really hate this genre. It’s nothing but a bag of bones. There’s no meat. The keyboards are so cheesy. Worst of all, the lyrics are completely vapid. Now that you’re in Taipei, you can stop listening to crap like this. I can give you some real music.”
    Mei-ling turned red and her pursed lips resembled the anus of a tied-up balloon.
    â€œYou think this is crap, huh?”
    I can be well-humored about almost anything except someone questioning my informed taste in music. “Yeah. It sucks!”
    â€œIf it sucks, then why did it win a song contest?”
    â€œBecause shit like this is popular, that’s why.”
    â€œYou think it’s ‘shit’ now, huh?”
    â€œIt is shit, and if these two guys,” I pointed to Whistle and then Gao, “were honest, they’d say the same.”
    Mei-ling slapped her car seat and stopped the music. “It’s my song, Jing-nan. I did it all by myself on my computer. That’s me singing, too.”
    I immediately felt like a monster. It was my first day with a cousin I didn’t know I had and already I had shattered her dreams. I knew how it felt to be put down by older people but I never thought I would be one of those older people. I should say something constructive. Something moderately positive. Something you’d expect from your older cousin.
    I cleared my throat and ran a finger on the inside seam of my jeans. “That song’s not so bad for something you did all by yourself,” I said.
    Mei-ling searched my face for an artery to bite. “You said it was shit !”
    â€œI won’t lie to you, Mei-ling. I really do hate it. But if you’re serious about your music, you shouldn’t care what critics say. You should just pursue it and to hell with what other people say. If you think it’s great, then it is great.”
    She shifted. “You think so?”
    â€œOf course. Every successful artist has had to overcome adversity. If it were easy, then everybody would be a star. When you make it, you can throw all my words back in my face. You should probably do that now.”
    She let out a heavy sigh. No one had ever been honest with her about her music before.
    â€œDid you really win a contest?”
    She nodded. “It was online.”
    â€œWhat was the