Posted by
Charlie @ Discovering Mandarin
Monday, 5 October 2009
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comments
乐队(band): 五月天 Wǔ Yuè Tiān Mayday
国家(country): Taiwan
Mayday (五月天) have sold over 1 million records and in 2007 Mayday released Jump! (Leaving the surface of the Earth) and toured the world with their fast paced anthemic rock appealing to both Western and Eastern listeners.
Mayday's songs are mostly sung in Mandarin. Mayday through their hard work have become one of the biggest rock bands in Taiwanese pop culture. They have also received a range of accolades as well as selling records all over the world.
They cite their influences from The Beatles, U2 and Taiwan’s own Wu Bai. They have released 15 albums and dvds in the last ten years proving themselves to be extremely hard working and are known to perform gigs that are upto 5 hours long bringing in the new year.
Lead singer of Mayday 阿信 Ashin also writes most of the material with references to many cultural icons from around th world.Mayday are an energetic band and this song seems to be one of the more popular. It is a fast paced catchy song.
五月天 - 離開地球表面 Mayday - 'Leaving the Surface of the Earth'
This is a more of a ballad than the grungier distorted rock song above.
五月天 - 我又初恋啦 Mayday - I am in love again
This next song reminds me of Maroon 5, funky indie rock with catchy choruses.
五月天 - 香水 Mayday - Perfume
Let me know what you think of Mayday below in the comments. Also please recommend your favourite Mayday songs, they have written a lot of songs and I haven’t heard them all.
Posted by
Charlie @ Discovering Mandarin
Thursday, 10 September 2009
4
comments
乐队(band): 伍佰 Wǔ Bǎi Wu Bai
国家(country): Taiwan
Wu Bai is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue. Wu Bai has also appeared in films such as 'The Personals' (徵婚啟事), 'A Beautiful New World' (美麗新世界) and 'Time and Tide' (順流逆流) Making him a huge, huge star. Despite being one of the biggest rockstars in East and Southeast Asia this song is probably the cheesy equivalent of our Macarena. This song is horribly catchy, and I desperatley want to dislike the song, but am drawn to it like a moth to a lightbulb. The ensuing dance and catchy melody will stick in your head. I stop short of learning the dance though, I don’t think it would go down well at my local night club.
伍佰 - 你是我的花朵 Wu Bai - You are my flower
So that seems to be, a one of cheesy infectious dance hit, that has become a symbol of Taiwan. Now to give you a real show of what Wu Bai’s rock band sounds like. He grew up listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and other classic rock bands. This quite clearly shows in how different this song is to the one above. It is astonishing to me that a rockstar can indulge in cheesy pop. In the West there is a problem with the integrity and authenticity of an artist should they indulge in such activities. He seems to have reinvented himself any times, at times looking as wild s David Bowie in the glam rock era.
伍佰 - 挪威的森林 Wu Bai - My Lonely Life
Let me know what you think of Wu Bai below in the comments.