Mandarin pop
June 17, 2005 4:01 PM Subscribe
I've started studying Mandarin. In a couple weeks I'll be going on vacation to a city where I should be able to pick up some CDs of pop music in Mandarin. What should I get? Clear voices (not drowned out by instruments or distortion) are a plus; I dislike rap; otherwise I'm open to anything.
The singer with the clearest voice in my opinion is Jeff Chang (Zhang Xinzhe), though his music is way too sappy for my taste.
If you can find the MP3, Richie Ren's "Duimian de nuhai kanguolai" is great because the chorus is not only ridiculously catchy but it helps you learn directions.
(for the love of Christ, why doesn't Metafilter support Unicode so I can write this in Chinese?)
posted by alidarbac at 9:13 PM on June 17, 2005
If you can find the MP3, Richie Ren's "Duimian de nuhai kanguolai" is great because the chorus is not only ridiculously catchy but it helps you learn directions.
(for the love of Christ, why doesn't Metafilter support Unicode so I can write this in Chinese?)
posted by alidarbac at 9:13 PM on June 17, 2005
I second Wang Fei (also known as Faye Wong). She's also got a website.
posted by sour cream at 2:07 AM on June 18, 2005
posted by sour cream at 2:07 AM on June 18, 2005
Check out Andy Lau, Shabaoliang, Huang Pin-Yuan, Jolin and Stefanie. I also really enjoy S.H.E., Jay, Will WuHa and Twins.
I find it interesting that when you listen to singing in Mandarin that tones are most often discarded for the sake of the song tune. For me listening just helps me to listen better but does very little for pronunciation.
I've got some Chinese pop over here for your listening pleasure.
posted by geekyguy at 4:21 AM on June 18, 2005
I find it interesting that when you listen to singing in Mandarin that tones are most often discarded for the sake of the song tune. For me listening just helps me to listen better but does very little for pronunciation.
I've got some Chinese pop over here for your listening pleasure.
posted by geekyguy at 4:21 AM on June 18, 2005
You probably don't have to worry about Mandarin rap artists.
posted by yclipse at 5:25 AM on June 18, 2005
posted by yclipse at 5:25 AM on June 18, 2005
You probably don't have to worry about Mandarin rap artists.
You might be surprised. I really like it.
posted by geekyguy at 6:16 AM on June 18, 2005
You might be surprised. I really like it.
posted by geekyguy at 6:16 AM on June 18, 2005
I would second Faye Wong and Richie Ren (although I've been unsuccessfully looking for the mp3 of Duimian de nuhai kanguolai for a while). Faye Wong in particular, because there are sites with the lyrics in Chinese and translated to English, which should prove useful. I like Scenic Tour best of her albums.
You could try Coco Lee or A-mei too, both of which I have used for listening comprehension before.
posted by gemmy at 10:40 AM on June 18, 2005
You could try Coco Lee or A-mei too, both of which I have used for listening comprehension before.
posted by gemmy at 10:40 AM on June 18, 2005
gemmy: this may not be the Richie Ren mp3, but i'd say 1000x better if you haven't seen it. A great song.
Flash Music Video
posted by bennymoto at 5:21 PM on June 18, 2005
Flash Music Video
posted by bennymoto at 5:21 PM on June 18, 2005
bennymoto, that video is hilarious!
Richie Ren has another big hit called "Xin1 Tai4 Ruan2" (Heart Too Soft). Great for post-breakup first aid.
posted by of strange foe at 6:45 PM on June 18, 2005
Richie Ren has another big hit called "Xin1 Tai4 Ruan2" (Heart Too Soft). Great for post-breakup first aid.
posted by of strange foe at 6:45 PM on June 18, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
Nearly all my girlfriends love this guy called A1 Du4 - on par with John Mayer, on the mushiness scale. My favorite female singer is Chen2 Shu1 Hua. She has a very clear voice. Wang2 Fei1, who appeared in a couple of Kar Wai Wong movies, is a good singer, but a lot of her CDs are in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
(I hope you can read my pinyin. Mefi usually goof up Chinese encoding in posts.)
posted by of strange foe at 6:45 PM on June 17, 2005