Sounds of My Childhood: Golden Era of Taiwanese Mandopop

Ithas been years since I tuned in to Mandarin pop, new releases, and oldies. Visiting the Taipei and Kaohsiung Music Centers this summer with my children brought back long-forgotten lyrics, melodies, memories, and sentiments associated with an earlier age of innocence. I had no idea my phased encounters with Taiwan-produced Mandopop throughout my nomadic upbringing coincided with key stages of the development of Taiwan’s music industry. I was born around the industry’s initial takeoff and the establishment of major labels such as Rock Record and UFO Record. Songwriters and producers looked to the West for best practices and inspiration. Across the Taiwan Strait, families like mine on the newly reformed and opened Chinese mainland were cruising along a politically most tolerant decade. Abundant cultural products were imported from the island of Formosa, including numerous pop songs. One work from this period, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6T4DXRKYHM&pp=ygUP5piO5aSp5pyD5pu05aW9" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Tomorrow Will Be Better</a>” by various Taiwanese artists — released a few months after “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson et al., and also a benefit single for African famine relief — was played so often in my house along with its American counterpart that they probably helped shape my cheerful temperament and optimistic outlook. <a href="https://medium.com/the-riff/sounds-of-my-childhood-golden-era-of-taiwanese-mandopop-5739f5123361">Learn More</a>