VOA常速英语2008年-Red House Records Releases 25th Anniversary Sam

By Katherine Cole
Washington
14 March 2008

For the past 25 years, Red House Records has been one of America's premiere independent record labels. Based in Saint Paul Minnesota, NOT Los Angeles, New York or Nashville, Red House is the label of choice for some of the most creative songwriters and performers. VOA's Katherine Cole reports on a new release that includes music from some of the Red House stalwarts including Eliza Gilkyson, Jorma Kaukonen, and the label's first recording¹ artist, Greg Brown.

Greg Brown has been with Red House Records since day one. In fact, the label was originally created by Brown in 1981, as a way to distribute his own recordings². It was named for a farmhouse³ in Iowa where he was living. In 1983, the late Bob Feldman took over the day-to-day operations from Brown, and the current day Red House Records was born.

Over the next few years, the label roster⁴ grew, first attracting performers from the midwest states, including John Gorka, who brought attention to the label in 1987, after Rolling Stone magazine declared him "the preeminent⁵ male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement."

Gorka is one of 17 Red House artists with songs on their 25th anniversary compilation⁶ CD, Our Side of Town. His contribution is "When You Sing," from the 2006 CD, Writing In The Margins⁷.  Gorka says the song was inspired by gospel legend Mavis Staples⁸, one of his musical heroes.

"Our Side of Town," isn't just a look back at the early years of Red House, it also gives an indication of what we can expect to hear in the future.

In addition to songwriting legends like Greg Brown and John Gorka, Our Side of Town shines a light on some of the younger artists who are recording for the label. 29-year-old Meg Hutchison has just released "Come Up Full", her first CD on Red House. She says the album is about encountering good things when you least expect it.

Meg Hutchinson describes "Ready" as a song about our ability to overcome life's most-trying times. That is a theme that seems to resonate throughout Red House Records as the independent label celebrates the past 25 years, and the amazing feat⁹ of staying in business when other independent record labels have failed.

The past few years have not been easy ones. In 2006, Red House was rocked by the death of its founder¹⁰ and president, Bob Feldman. That blow, combined with a downturn in traditional album sales due to the digital revolution raised serious questions about the label's future. But Red House embraced the digital world and quickly made their catalog available for download, a move that some compeitors in the roots music world had been reluctant to do.

Red House Records is staying current on the music side of things as well, signing new artists and developing talent.

Our Side of Town, the new CD celebrating 25 years of Red House Records, contains a good mix of songs from newcomers including the Wailin' Jennys, Storyhill and The Pines, along with prime tracks from stalwarts Ray Bonneville, Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson.

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

4 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

5 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

6 compilation   

n.编译，编辑

参考例句：

• One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
• The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。

7 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

8 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

9 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。