[Discussion] MAYDAY

Jul 1, 2013 12:16 pm

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[i] 五月天 (Wǔ Yuè Tiān) is a Taiwanese alternative rock band that was formed in the late 1990s with five members, Ashin (A Shin) (vocalist), Monster (Guai Shou) and Stone (Shi Tou) (lead guitars), Masa (Ma-sha) (bass guitar) and Guan You (Guan-You) (drums).

Formerly making music under the name of So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. They have gone on to sell more than 1 million albums. Mayday won the Golden Melody Award for Best Band in 2001,2004,2009 and 2012.

Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability in capturing the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s. They are often cited as one of the pioneers of rock music in Taiwan.

Mayday's early style of music was characterised by raw music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also vocal advocates on the issue of gay rights, with several songs making oblique references to the issue.As they gained popularity however, the band gradually shed its hard-edged sound and moved towards slicker production and sprawling anthemic songs.

Earlier lyrics written by Ashin centred around themes of teenage angst and growing up. However, in recent albums, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" (愛情萬歲) which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armour" (武装) which was influenced by a Chinese drama 《孽子》and Haruki Murakami's novel, Kafka On the Shore.

Mayday has made no secret of its admiration of the Beatles whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon (約翰藍儂) where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (華人世界的披頭四). Other diverse musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children, Sting as well as the Taiwanese rocker Wu Bai and China Blue.

Studio albums

1999 - Mayday's First Album
2000 - Viva Love (愛情萬歲)
2001 - People Life, Ocean Wild (人生海海)
2003 - Time Machine (時光機)
2004 - God's Children Are All Dancing/falling Angels With A flying Soul/ (神的孩子都在跳舞)
2005 - Just My Pride Best Of Album (知足最真傑作選)
2006 - Born to Love (為愛而生)
2008 - Poetry of the Day After (後青春期的詩)
2011 - Second Round (第二人生)

Live albums and DVDs

1999-The 168th Performance (第168場演唱會)
2000-A Hundred Thousand Youths Standing Up (十萬青年站出來)
2001-Where Are You Going? (你要去哪裡)
2004-City of the Sky (天空之城)
2005-Final Home – When We Are All Together (Final Home 當我們混在一起)
2007-Leaving the Surface of the Earth (離開地球表面 Jump!)
2009-In the Sky of 100000 You & Mayday (100000人出頭天)
2009-D.N.A. Live! (「創造」小巨蛋)
2010-D.N.A World Tour In Live DVD(五月天[創造]演唱會影音全紀錄)
2011-MAYDAY 3DNA/O.S.T.(追夢3DNA-電影原聲音樂)