In less than three years, Sodagreen has gone from obscurity to a bestselling combo with diehard fans. So what's the appeal of their music? Sodagreen is made up of six members: lead singer Wu Ching-feng, bassist Hsieh Hsin-yi, keyboard player Kung Yu-cui (who doubles on violin), Liu Chia-kai on electric guitar, Ho Ching-yang on acoustic guitar, and drummer Shih Chun-wei. Most of the band members have been writing and playing together since their days as students at National Chengchi University, so they still have that student band feel about them. Will Lin says, "Even when they go out to party, they don't get up to any mischief; they are good, smart kids."

Lin believes that Sodagreen's biggest asset is the absence of any expectations or affectations. "One minute they are like intellectuals, talking seriously about literature or film, and the next they are goofing around--they not only play stupid games together like children at a summer camp, they even love to watch mindless variety shows." This new-generation attitude shows itself in the fact that their lyrics are highly literate, but their stage antics are kindergartenish, with everyone jumping around and playing around in a completely unselfconscious way.

Their music--light folk-rock--is easily accessible, and when you add in Wu's androgynous way of singing and moving, the overall effect is somewhat rock, but definitely not "hard rock." This sets them apart from the hard masculine edge traditionally adopted by male bands in Taiwan, giving them a unique appeal. Those who like the band appreciate their fresh approach, while those who don't call them "sissies" and consider their music no better than pop fluff.

Wu feels strongly positive about the group's style. He says that each member has his own favorite type of music, and Sodagreen is the natural sum of all of its parts. They chose their name because they want their music to give the tingle of soda pop when it first hits your tongue, right before the stimulant effect spreads through you, and even when you've finished, the feeling still lingers. "Sodagreen" is meant to evoke this kind of sensation.

Wu and other group members admit that they love the British band Radiohead, despite the fact that their own music sounds nothing like Radiohead's. But they still think that that they share with Radiohead a mood of searching for some glimmer of hope through ashen-gray observation of society.

For example, for the song "Little Universe" for which Wu wrote the lyrics, Wu confesses to having been influenced by the works of the poets Chen Li and Hsia Yu, hoping to raise his own observations and complaints about society to the level of everyone striving to find a peaceful space in their own lives. His melodious voice tinged with a touch of anger, he sings: "Give yourself a peaceful and happy time such as you've never had before / The already aged years turn into a butterfly flitting around my room / Say thank you to the new language exchanged with time and the landscape of your heart / Don't think about those imperfect worlds and don't get hung up on them."

On the cut "Little Love Song," which is popular with young people, Wu sings, "I think I'm really suited / To be a balladeer / Youth floating free on the wind." Such a self-confident declaration is no longer the dream of a small group of rebels. Perhaps, just as the old Mandarin hit song that Sodagreen has just remade says, if you work hard and don't give up, everybody can sing their own song, and "my future is not a dream."