My (Very Limited) Songwriting Career and Some Spotify Lists

I've continued to neglect this blog, but I wanted to make at least one post before the year ended. I was originally planning to write something about the Beatles' last year together and the two albums that came out of it, Let It Be (the recording of which was covered by the recent Beatles documentary Get Back) and Abbey Road, but I haven't had time to do it. As an alternative, I'm posting something I wrote 10 days ago about my two small contributions to the world of recorded music, and a list of some of the Spotify lists I've compiled in the last year or so.

My (Very Limited) Songwriting Career

Though I've written a handful of songs and even publicly performed a few of them, none of them has appeared on any kind of formal release. Twenty years ago, I rewrote a couple of lines in a short song in English called "I Learn" which Taiwanese musician Zhu Yuexin (Jutopi) had written for Taiwan's first human rights-themed compilation album A Home for Everyone (美麗之島，人之島). He insisted that I be credited, so that was the first and until now the only time I've received a songwriting credit on an officially released CD. But some time back, Paiwan singer-songwriter Zhuo Yamai (卓亞麥) asked me to write English words for a blues song that he'd released on his 2019 album. Since the original Chinese lyrics were short and simple, I was able to translate them more or less directly with only slight adjustments so they would scan correctly, and using an instrumental backing track he'd given me, I recorded a demo for him. A few months ago, he told me he'd recorded the song for his new album. The album, titled Bicai (部落菜車), was just released, and on the song I wrote/translated the lyrics for, he sings a duet with another great Paiwan singer-songwriter, Dakanow (達卡鬧). While they are obviously not native speakers of English, they have the feeling down pat, and the backing track is pure blues. So for the second time, I have a songwriting credit on a CD. I hope I'll get more opportunities like this in the future, including writing entirely original lyrics in either English or Chinese (and maybe music as well, though my abilities there are a little more limited) - and that it won't be quite so long until the next time.

Some Spotify Lists

More Than 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kUt9ERobbN9b37boaj62z?si=9576d4eff20a442f

The Beatles - A Comprehensive Introduction: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ATqLioi58R5EXQSh0K450?si=f21354445a0f4593

Queen - A Comprehensive Introduction: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4IeOrO4ThgnpIkmRuA8B2p?si=5f65d7c637914dc3

Sting and the Police - A Comprehensive Introduction: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1dcFY1SmdFgnMGOytMuHIw?si=338b92021ec74fe9

Genesis - A Comprehensive Introduction: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Gl1Vyk9JNB3zA2BIdXL4Z?si=0134eb73fd0a4340

Randy Newman Sings Randy Newman: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1p7iRVxEYjKcufRkDOsONh?si=01eef7d4f54e4828

The Songs of Randy Newman: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1lJno5iLpeivFRpMsHTwVG?si=6f5710e970974f9c

Epic Songs: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A30sXYOjJBdnIjGwSYHVB?si=b2b0202b23da45c8

Everyone Sings the Beatles - A Selection of Beatles Covers

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/24k7IUPtunPaVl4fSajmEr?si=12a3f3ba0a844e5c

Obscure Beginnings: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2SUWgLMI1S0yYYqhk3K4je?si=753879f587fc4443

Obscure Originals: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77xWygDEe3hp5J0oopm95c?si=d41dc1d777714e9d

羅大佑精選The Best of Luo Dayou (Lo Tayou): 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1bQq52OQOgY6NczYipXr4y?si=fbe4bf0c1cd9494c

Beyond精選The Best of Beyond: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2zec3aHwx0Hathzw3RILN2?si=1ea42163577f4a44

近代經典台灣原住民歌Modern Taiwanese Indigenous Pop: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/65SzxUWwUbZQNpieAfSAc3?si=631f84ef2c934533

East and Southeast Asian Classics (東亞經典歌曲): 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5gMBQKFTuZ5nBVr2n03nUl?si=621ad345d18c44ef

1980年代的台灣流行歌 Taiwanese Pop of the 1980s: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BGX7rwutvIL3miFgWqC9b?si=5e7ec349c42c459c