I'm looking for popular Chinese media (songs, movies), any ideas?

[dasmania]

I'm going to Taiwan in September and I'd like to listen to music for an hour a day or watch a movie a day just to get back in the groove of things. I've never tried this kind of learning but I have the basics of Mandarin down and I think this could be a better way to learn, at least while I'm not immersed in the country. That being said, I have no idea about Chinese songs or movies. I know a lot of them out there are in Cantonese or use different mainland slang. Can anybody contribute some movie titles and song names that would use Taiwanese Mandarin? (Good movies would be preferred obv) Thanks dudes/dudettes!

[archylgp]

I'm going to Taiwan in September and I'd like to listen to music for an hour a day or watch a movie a day just to get back in the groove of things. I've never tried this kind of learning but I have the basics of Mandarin down and I think this could be a better way to learn, at least while I'm not immersed in the country. That being said, I have no idea about Chinese songs or movies. I know a lot of them out there are in Cantonese or use different mainland slang. Can anybody contribute some movie titles and song names that would use Taiwanese Mandarin? (Good movies would be preferred obv) Thanks dudes/dudettes!

You'll hear a lot of Southern Min in Taiwanese movies, but here's a list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Taiwanese_films and http://www.taiwancinema.com/ct_12000_108

I saw this movie on TV. I was able to watch the whole thing. You may enjoy it (all/mostly Mandarin): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_Exchanges

There's a movie (燃燒吧！歐吉桑) about a paint-ball war between old-time waisheng soldiers and some young people. It's thoughtful and funny at times. http://www.taiwancinema.com/ct_65394_38

My wife liked this one a lot. I got through it. Mostly to all Mandarin. http://www.taiwancinema.com/ct_65286_38

[ehophi]

I honestly think you'd get burnt out trying to watch full films in Mandarin at first. I like to watch NMA clips. They're shorter, easier to digest, and more readily available.

[dasmania]

NMA is news or something?

I wonder if they're movies available that have subtitles in English or vice versa.

What do you think about listening to good music that is only in Mandarin over and over? I would think it might at least help me with my listening skills ie recognizing pronunciations....or at the very worst I could eventually rock a KTV and blow away some Taiwanese lol

[archylgp]

NMA is news or something?

I wonder if they're movies available that have subtitles in English or vice versa.

What do you think about listening to good music that is only in Mandarin over and over? I would think it might at least help me with my listening skills ie recognizing pronunciations....or at the very worst I could eventually rock a KTV and blow away some Taiwanese lol

Something else that I find really funny and interesting -- 相聲. The language is usually pretty simple and it is not a Chinese attempt at western structures but a culturally Chinese form of comedy. Taiwanese are really good at 相聲, too; here's a link:　http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGV-noo4xU&feature=related

[Icon]

The news, I reccommend the news. One hour a day, with subtitles, you'll learn a lot of vocabulary. Debates and documentaries are the best.

[ehophi]

NMA is news or something?

I wonder if they're movies available that have subtitles in English or vice versa.

What do you think about listening to good music that is only in Mandarin over and over? I would think it might at least help me with my listening skills ie recognizing pronunciations....or at the very worst I could eventually rock a KTV and blow away some Taiwanese lol

They do English versions, too, on their website.

The trick there is finding good music with Mandarin lyrics. I personally can't stand most of it. How many piano ballads, pop troupes, and love songs does one country need in a season? You could blow Taiwanese people away with your ability to read the lyrics and fake the rest, or so my experience tells me. Heck, you can blow some Taiwanese people away by asking where the bathroom is.

[bomblog]

I can help you here.

One place that you can get streaming video of Chinese movies and also TV dramas (with subtitles in English and Chinese) from Taiwan, the Mainland and Hong Kong is at the MySoju website (videos from Korea and Japan too) listed on this webpage here. Yup, I compiled those. The other video websites for learning Chinese might be handy for you to sharpen your skills too.

There are around 3 or 4 websites listed with loads of recent Chinese pop songs towards the end of this blog post, with lyrics in Chinese characters, pinyin , and some with English translations. Plenty of others there which are just "all time favorites". And there are links to online Chinese radio stations too, which might do the trick for you. Lots of stuff there for learning Chinese for free that's available on the Web.

Hope that helps!

[adikarmika]

I was never much turned on by rap music, until I started to study Taiwanese Madarin rap songs on Youtube, that is.

You'll learn a whole lot of street lingo that you'll never find in a text book, and if you're careful how you use it (some of it can be a bit crude), people will think you're pretty cool.

Some stuff is mentioned here: http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi ... 3&t=103739

Gotta love Life's a Struggle by the late 宋岳庭. A real classic.

MC Hotdog is one of my favourites, too. Love his lyrics in 差不多先生. (The tune aint bad, either).

[hansioux]

Can anybody contribute some movie titles and song names that would use Taiwanese Mandarin? (Good movies would be preferred obv) Thanks dudes/dudettes!

I am going to go with the obvious choices (as in... too popular, might not be as cool or underground)....

If you like rock, then I would suggest Mayday Rock (五月天 Wu-Yue-Tian). Personally I found the lyrics from their newest album profound and still easy to understand. Unlike some other popular music trends of trying too hard to write a hodgepodge of classicalish Chinese lyrics that is both hard to understand and pretty fake/commercial. Mayday is also very popular, everytime they have a concert it's pretty much sold out.

Couple of songs from their new Album:

Xin-Kong (Starry sky)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTUwaCImChM

Nuo-Ya-Fang-Zhou (Noah's Ark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46K7apDziA

OA-OA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgWLAYFv9G0

I particularly loved this line of lyrics in OA-OA "Have faith in heated debates, don't believe in harmony of silences", their producers wanted them to change the lyrics just in case it got on the bad side of the Chinese government making it hard for them to sell the song in China, but they stuck to their guns and left the song as is (though I think this version of the song didn't make it on the Chinese version anyway).

As for movie, again, going with the obvious, I have to go with Cape No.7 (海角七號 Hai-Jiao-Chi-Hao). It was a very popular film about a guy who gave up hope in a career in music being t asked to form a band for a local festival. Aside from the Japanese, frankly this movie presents dialogues as close to daily life in Taiwan as possible. I mean, unless you are always staying in certain parts of Taipei, otherwise you are bound to hear plenty of Holo Taiwanese or other Taiwanese languages.