【一起闲话英语】男生们的乐队—Boy bands

Transcript: 

Presenter¹: The internet is full of articles about what makes a good boy band. But many bands appear and disappear without a trace². Alana, it can’t be as easy as following a formula³, can it?

Alana: No, I don’t think so. The traditional formula is that you have four or five good-looking young guys with some musical ability and the ability to dance – the choreographed⁴ dancing was very important to boy bands in the past. They tended to wear the same, or very similar clothes when they performed, so you had to decide on a ‘look’ for the group. The most important element, however, was said to be that the band members had different and very distinct⁵ personalities⁶.

Presenter: Right, the cute one, the rebel⁷, the joker, the shy one, mysterious one ...

Alana: Yeah, although sometimes they all just seem to like the cute one! The idea is that different boys appeal to different girls, so you can have a bigger fan base. There’s someone in the band for everyone.

Presenter: So, do you think this all still holds true? Or have things changed in the 21st century?

Alana: Yeah, I guess things have changed for several reasons – partly just because we needed a change – but mainly because of changes in the media and with new technology. Take One Direction …

Presenter: Ah, I’ve been counting the seconds before you mentioned One Direction!

Alana: Well, we have to talk about them because they’re the biggest thing at the moment, although who knows how long they will last.

Presenter: Oh, ages and ages ...

Alana: We’ll see. Anyway, One Direction, as you know, came to fame through the X Factor, a reality show, and that was a great way to start. You had loads of people watching them every week and wanting them to win. They felt as if they had a personal stake⁸ in their story as they voted for them every week.

Presenter: What age group does One Direction appeal to exactly?

Alana: That’s another clever thing, they seem very unthreatening, so they appeal to very young girls, they are cute so teenage girls really like them, but they also have a laddish, slightly naughty side to appeal to the mums! The teenage girls and the mums are the ones who will spend money. The lyrics⁹ to the songs are calculated¹⁰ to appeal to girls who feel a bit insecure about themselves, like most teenage girls."You don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful", that kind of thing. Lots of girls want to feel wanted, but not scared, and that’s traditionally what boy bands do. They present this image of a clean-cut, reliable boyfriend. Actually, One Direction’s clothes also help here: chinos and clean casual¹¹ shirts and canvas¹² shoes. You’ll have noticed that they don’t wear the same clothes. Their stylists have been instructed to keep them looking individual, but despite that they all have this attractive but unthreatening look. No tattoos¹³, or piercings, or black leather, or make-up or anything.

Presenter: You make them seem very cold and calculating¹⁴. Remember that  they’ve been nominated¹⁵ for loads of music awards and they’ve won dozens, so they’re regarded as serious musicians.

Alana: OK, if you don’t want to believe they’re calculating you can blame their management. They’re nice boys who are fantastic musicians.

Presenter: They are! And they keep proving their critics wrong. A lot of people said they wouldn’t make the leap from the UK to the US market, but they did very quickly.

Alana: Yes, and that’s all down to their clever use of social media, or rather their management’s clever use of social media. One Direction are all over Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr. That’s how they made it in the States so quickly. In the past it was a lot more difficult and took a lot longer. Bands had to try and get air-time on local radio stations and that was really hard. But they’ve by-passed all that. Social media has become the new radio, as their manager said.

Presenter: Their first record, Up All Night, went to number one in the US, didn’t it?

Alana: Sure did! They achieved a world record as the first British band in history to reach number one in America with a debut¹⁶ album. It sold 176,000 copies in the US in a single week.

Presenter: Amazing. And the boys are all rich from the merchandising too.

Alana: Yes, well, the boys and their management company. There are One Direction phones, toys and games. Dolls, even. I think that’s another 21st-century thing – companies are cashing in on success in all possible ways as quickly as possible.

Presenter: May they all enjoy it while it lasts.

1 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

2 trace   

n.痕迹，踪迹，微量；vt.追踪，找出根源，描绘；vi.追踪

参考例句：

• There isn't a trace of a smile on her face.她脸上没有一丝笑容。
• We have lost all trace of him.我们找不到他的踪迹。

3 formula   

n.公式；配方，外方；规则，一定的做法

参考例句：

• His father is acting on his formula.他的父亲总是按他的原则办事。
• Here are some applications of Taylor's formula.下面举例说明泰乐定理的应用。

4 choreographed   

v.设计舞蹈动作( choreograph的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• There was some carefully choreographed flag-waving as the President drove by. 总统的车经过时，人们按精心编排的动作挥舞着旗帜。
• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself. 阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。 来自辞典例句

5 distinct   

adj.种类不同的，有区别的，清楚的，明显的

参考例句：

• I had the distinct impression that I was being followed.我清楚地感觉到有人跟踪我。
• The party split into two distinct groups.该党分裂成两个截然不同的团体。

6 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

7 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

8 stake   

n.木柱；赌注，奖金；v.打赌，下赌注

参考例句：

• A wooden stake was driven firmly into the ground.木桩被牢牢钉进土地里。
• He put up a stake to support the newly planted tree.他竖了一根桩支撑新种的树。

9 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

10 calculated   

adj.蓄意的

参考例句：

• Cash income is calculated by subtracting total trading income from total receipts. 现金收入是从总收入中减去总贸易收入来计算的。
• I calculated that the trip would take two days. 我估计这段路程要走两天时间。

11 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

12 canvas   

n.粗帆布，一块油画布

参考例句：

• The times that people used canvas boat have become history.人们用帆船的时代已成为历史。
• Smith painted an oil painting on the canvas.史密斯在画布上画了一幅油画。

13 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 calculating   

a.深谋远虑的，精明的

参考例句：

• a cold and calculating killer 一个工于心计的冷酷杀手
• His mechanical calculating engines were the antecedents of the modern computer. 他的机械计算机是现代电子计算机的雏形。

15 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

16 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。