｜MUSIC, ISLAND, STORIES: Pop Music in Taiwan
3 floors, 13 exhibition zones, 19 narrators, 113 songs, 1,400 artifacts.
Growing from the nutrients of this land, thriving in the freedom of this air.
MUSIC, ISLAND, STORIES: POP MUSIC IN TAIWAN
Connecting the past and future of Taiwan and Mandopop across generations.
｜Our Songs, Our Times
This land has been telling stories through songs for over a century, once sweeping through the Chinese-speaking world and influencing billions of lives. Whether in the era of authoritarianism or in today's open society, these musicians and these songs have transcended generations, time, space, and borders. They have vividly left the scent of memory in everyone's life. Whether they speak of daily life or convey grand sentiments; whether you are a rocker or an angry youth, a "small fresh" fan or a dreamer, everyone has a song that belongs to them, and you will surely find your own story here.
Let us open our ears, open our eyes, and step into this temple of pop music together to listen closely to the songs of this island and experience a rich musical journey.
｜Prologue: Chords of Memory
Music has always been by our side, with song after song witnessing the turbulence of the times and the change of regimes. In every generation's heart, there is a song of their own.
｜Taipei Circle
In the early days, folk songs were passed down orally. In the 1930s, as the needle dropped and the music began, Taiwan had its very first pop song. From the "songbooks" of the Japanese colonial period to radios, gramophones, and the "records" and cassette tapes found in wandering street performances and record stores, Taipei Circle undeniably witnessed the early development of Taiwan's pop music and enriched the ears of several generations.
｜Era Electronics Shop
From pocket-sized transistor radios and televisions from black-and-white to color, to portable cassette recorders and, of course, the Walkman... the small display window of an electronics shop witnessed the musical eras we once owned.
｜Taipei Cinema (The Story of Movie Theme Songs)
The 1932 film "Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood" featured one of Taiwan's earliest pop songs, marking a deep connection between pop music and the film industry. The golden age of cinema was also the peak of the record industry, leaving behind countless classics such as "A Red Egg," "Longing for the Spring Breeze," and "Harbor Night Rain."
｜Train, Train
With modernization and urbanization, trains carried wanderers away from home to chase their dreams. This train carried full dreams and the melancholy of leaving home, its rhythm accompanying this island from an agricultural society to industrialization and now to a modern society driven by the service industry.
｜Singing Our Own Songs (Folk Song Era)
There was an era when young people relied on a guitar, a small songbook, and a portable cassette recorder to record demos, writing and singing their own songs. These songs revealed a deep literary sentiment, often setting poems to music, giving pop music a richer literary foundation and laying a solid base for the pop music that followed.
｜The Spiritual World of Youth
As Taiwan's political and social climate gradually loosened in the 1980s, many "songs with attitude" were born, echoing the frustrations and anxieties of generations of youth, while also singing of their dreams, innocence, and youthful passion.
｜Musical Love Stories
In life, there is always a song that captures your joy and sorrow in love, your hesitation, and every secret feeling. When that familiar melody plays, who do you think of? Or do you think of your former self?
｜The Birth of a Record
From creation, arrangement, recording, and vocals to post-production, visual design, and marketing, every step of an album's completion requires professional collaboration. Let's take a look at how an album is made.
｜The Charm of Music (Diversity and Inclusivity)
Taiwan's land blends rich and diverse cultures. Beyond songs in Taiwanese, Hakka, Indigenous, and immigrant languages, pop singers from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia view Taiwan as their most important base. This inclusive spirit has filled the island with various styles, including ballads, rock, dance music, hip-hop, R&B, and EDM.
｜Music Live
In the 1990s, underground bands performed in humble pubs, and singer-songwriters began to play in Live Houses. Later, these spaces, once labeled "underground" or "marginal," gradually evolved into creative bases for diverse music culture. In recent years, various music festivals have attracted tens of thousands of listeners, connecting like-minded musicians. Today, "Independent Music" has become the "mainstream" in the eyes of the youth.
｜HIP-HOP: Taiwan Hip-Hop
The brand-new Hip-Hop exhibition zone features curator "Principal" Dwagie and "The Rappers" producer Chou Yu-kai. Through interviews with cross-generational rap stars like Jeffrey Huang, MC HotDog, Miss Ko, MJ116, Kumachan, and AkPooM, they share their perspectives on the interaction between generations and hip-hop music, offering the purest experience of raw, powerful hip-hop.
｜Live Life (Concert Experience Zone)
The team uses large-scale four-sided projections, combined with meticulously planned stage lighting and lasers, to recreate the shock of a live concert using the latest technology. Prick up your ears, open your eyes, and enjoy this musical feast!
