This post was also published on Substack.
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This article marks my first serious attempt to write about music—something I cannot live without.
My first touch on music
I grew up in an environment full of music for as long as I can remember. At home, my mom filled our home with all kinds of music throughout the day. Later, I realized that this was also because her dad, my grandpa, was also a music enthusiast.
During primary school, I used to stay at my parents' hair salon a lot. If you try to picture the background sound of it, you probably would get it right. There were always soft but somehow energetic voices played on the stereo such as ABBA, Céline Dion, etc.
Growing up while witnessing the format changes of music
The format of music also developed over time. In the car, we used to play all the CDs (of course, they were mostly copied versions at that time) which I could remember the whole sequence of songs! We would also switch between radio channels to look for surprises.
Looking back, I was probably one of the few in my generation who has possessed various devices including Walkman, MP3 player, MP4 player, etc. I didn’t realize how privileged I was at the time!
When it comes to online resources, it was still a time when pirated music files were all over the place. I remember learning how to use the P2P platform "Foxy" to download music and input it to my devices.
Later on, I became an early user of KKBOX, one of the earliest music streaming platforms in Taiwan. I reluctantly switched to Spotify when I moved abroad because KKBOX didn't allow overseas usage at that time.
Discovering and developing my musical tastes
It is always a joy recalling how I got to know some of my favorite artists. For example, I watched a singing contest show with my mom when I was a child. Naturally, I started to follow her and listen to Yoga Lin, her favorite contestant on the show. Later on, he became one of my favorite singers in Taiwan as well.
In my last year of high school, we stayed late at school every day to study for the college entrance exam. Usually, I left the school at around 9 P.M. and waited for the last bus home. One day, I found out about a radio show hosted by a Taiwanese singer, "Waa Wei". Very quickly, I fell in love with her hosting style, and it became my routine to relax after long days.
That was probably the first time I had such a strong feeling — it's such a beautiful thing to be able to share music with people and bring positive, warm vibes to them.
After years, I've listened to more and more music genres: from Western Pop classics (I used to listen to Richard Marx to sleep) to Mandarin Indie; from Classical to Britpop; from City Pop to Jazz…
Ontology of music
I often can't help but think about music from an ontological point of view. It seems obvious to me that music exists at the intersection of objectivity and subjectivity. Here's how I view it:
When you examine a song closely, you see the structure of it — the notes, the chords, the beats, etc. It communicates its form and character to the listener by itself.
Yet on the other hand, the moment music is heard, it becomes subjective. Each listener brings their own context — emotions, memories, stories — and in doing so, reshapes the music's meaning. The same piece of music may bring various feelings to different listeners. And it IS the listener who ultimately gives the music its own meanings.
In this way, music's being is dual, which is what gives music its powerful emotional and cultural resonance. That's why I believe there's no right or wrong approach to interacting with music. Random streaming on Spotify? Repeating one track endlessly? Savoring a full album start to finish? Even irrational criticism on an artist? All valid. No problem.
Looking up to the giants
Our beloved, departed piano master Sakamoto-san demonstrated a wonderful example of how music should not be limited. His art consists of various elements spread across different styles. It is impossible to define him and his work in a single way.
His works were also tied closely to his personal life. In different stages of his life, he created songs that reflected the present moment, and I find it fascinating.
While I may not be an artist myself, I’ve been thinking about how I might contribute beyond simply listening (which is good enough!). There's one example that I recently started to look up to — one of the most famous women in jazz history, Pannonica de Koenigswarter.
Nica was a legend. She played such a huge part in supporting hundreds and hundreds of jazz artists. It is fair to say that without her contribution and passion, we never would have had so many great jazz classics to listen to right now. I might not have the great wealth that Nica did, but I wish to contribute to my generation in a similar way as she did...
Whether as a listener, a curator, or a supporter, I believe we each have a role to play in the life of music, and music has a role to play in the life of each of us.