For fans of Joanna Wang (王若琳), now is your chance to see the “real” Joanna, the outspoken singer/songwriter engaged in a very public struggle to break free from the jazz princess image manufactured by her label, Sony.
In a candid e-mail interview, Wang — who will perform more than 20 new, unreleased songs tonight at Legacy Taipei — slams Sony for packaging her music as “jazz,” reveals why her band is called New Tokyo Terror, and shows her sardonic sense of humor when she says she drinks “a glass of hatorade every morning.”
Taipei Times: Will you be performing new songs you’ve written at the Legacy concert? Can you describe them?
Joanna Wang: I will be performing about 20 or more new and unreleased songs. All written in the last four or five years. The show will be divided into two parts, the former part being my more classically influenced songs, which are played in a baroque-esque manner, the latter being my more pop/rock influenced music played in a traditional rock band setup. There’s a costume involved as well! How very exciting.
TT: Will you perform songs from The Adult Storybook CD from your second album? Any cover songs?
JW: I will perform three songs from The Adult Storybook. As for covers ... a most rockin’ and totally awesome tune called This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us by a badass band by the name of Sparks.
TT: What do you think about your current status as the preeminent “jazz singer” in the Chinese-speaking world?
JW: I think anyone who dares call him or herself a music buff (I suppose one such as myself ... ) would say that I am not, in fact, a so-called jazz singer. I’ve always been infuriated at the fact that the marketing team I worked with decided to promote me under the guise of “jazz,” when I clearly only sang commercial pop ballads. If these ballads I had to sing are so easily labeled as jazz or bossa nova, then I’m sure that would be a true insult to actual jazz musicians. Deceit is a terrible thing and this is a blatant (and not unusual) case of deceit to consumers from the record label.
TT: What kind of musician would you like to become? What kind of songs would you like to sing?
JW: I’d just sing my own songs. Trust me, if you’ve been misunderstood ever since the beginning, the first thing you’d want to be would be yourself.
TT: Which singer do you admire and would like to emulate?
JW: Danny Elfman. What a colorful musical career he’s had! From his time in The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, to Oingo Boingo and to his career as a TV and film composer ... I’ve adored works from all of those phases.
TT: Tell me about the story behind the group New Tokyo Terror. Do you write songs with them or by yourself?
JW: New Tokyo Terror is actually just me with a roster of musicians that is constantly changing due to mostly location and what kind of music we’re playing. I write all of the music. The names New Tokyo Terror and my sometimes-used stage name Chicken Joanna come from a manga called Fourteen Years I read in my teens.
TT: You described yourself as a “cynical, angry character” in our previous interview. What kind of songs do you write these days? Are you going into darker and more emotional terrain?
JW: My writing style hasn’t changed much, as a few of my more representative pieces were written when I was around 18. I think “emotional” is a pretty lame-o word. And yes, I am very, very cynical. I drink a tall glass of hatorade every morning! Also I don’t trust people who use LOL without being ironic.
TT: What do you envision your next album to be like?
JW: Dark and mischievous. A mix of the classical (think baroque), prog rock (if I may ... ) and synthesizers! I hope it doesn’t come out too terribly.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
As we live longer, our risk of cognitive impairment is increasing. How can we delay the onset of symptoms? Do we have to give up every indulgence or can small changes make a difference? We asked neurologists for tips on how to keep our brains healthy for life. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH “All of the sensible things that apply to bodily health apply to brain health,” says Suzanne O’Sullivan, a consultant in neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, and the author of The Age of Diagnosis. “When you’re 20, you can get away with absolute
When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week, it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime. Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US. The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, as well as in countries including France and Australia.
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
A police station in the historic sailors’ quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers’ neon-lit red-light windows. The station in the Villa Tinto complex is a symbol of the push to make sex work safer in Belgium, which boasts some of Europe’s most liberal laws — although there are still widespread abuses and exploitation. Since December, Belgium’s sex workers can access legal protections and labor rights, such as paid leave, like any other profession. They welcome the changes. “I’m not a victim, I chose to work here and I like what I’m doing,” said Kiana, 32, as she