I was a part-time worker in a Taiwanese radio broadcast company. I had to work every Sunday. I quitted this part-time job few weeks ago because I wanted to have more free time to study and to go hiking. But I occasionally substitute for some of my former co-workers when they need a break. Today is Chinese New Year Eve, and I substitute for one of my former co-worker because he has to help his father's business in traditional market. So now, I am in my studio, listening to radio programs, taking notes. My responsibility is like Big Brother, monitoring if there are illegal contents in programs. Most programs made by this company are in Taiwanese, and most of them are programs that hosts sell medicine to Taiwanese listeners. But there are few good programs that introduce Taiwanese cultural events or histories.
One of my favorite program is Taiwan Radio (台灣Radio) whose host introduces Taiwanese songs popular in different periods of time or organize songs in different themes, like broadcasting Taiwanese songs about Spril or about Traveling spots. The host has collected Taiwanese songs more than 40 years. Most of his collections are out of print. His collections are really precious. Every time I listen to his program, I always feel delighted and touched. Sometimes I feel proud of being Taiwanese because I get sensation of being rooted in those cultural Taiwanese song performances.
When the show is live, a lot of his listeners like to call in to chat with the host. They talk in Taiwanese or Japanese. I sometimes can't understand the content of their conversation, but I have a feeling that the story of Cape No. 7 is about this group of people even though I don't comepletely agree with the portraits of Taiwanse that Cape No. 7 depicts.
My mother tongue is Taiwanese, I rarely speak in Taiwanese now. But when I listen to those Taiwanese songs, I can sing along easily. I think those cultural elements surrounded around me since I was a kid, and they have influence on me even though I'm not aware of them.
I like to find some popular Taiwanese songs that come to my mind, and bring back some of my childhood memories. Thanks to the Internet and Youtube, I can accomplish the task easier than before.
The song displayed below was a popular song in the 90s. It's mixed with Taiwanese religious elements. Young Taiwanese love it, but it's said that elder Taiwanese think it's a kind of taboo song. Its melody is adopted from songs used Taoism rituals like leading ghosts of family members dead in strange lands back home or summoning gods' protection or possession. I think it was unprecedented at its time.
Title: 倒退嚕 (Moving Backwards)
Singer: 黃克林 (HUANG, Ke-ling)
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