美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Colors' Continues Beck's Postmodern Pastiche

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Beck is back. His last big public moment was a couple of years ago at the Grammys, when he was accepting his award for album of the year. The presenter¹ was Prince.

(SOUNDBITE OF 57TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS)

PRINCE: And the winner is "Morning Phase," Beck.

KELLY: That got Kanye West mad because Beyonce didn't win. So he jumped on stage, prompting Beck to joke...

(SOUNDBITE OF 57TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS)

BECK: I need some help. Come back.

KELLY: And now Beck's follow-up album is out. It is called "Colors." Tom Moon has our review.

TOM MOON, BYLINE²: Days after Beck's Grammy moment, his press agent put the word out - the eclectic songwriter would release new music soon, upbeat party songs he'd been recording³ over several years. That track called "Dreams" came out as a single in June of 2015.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMS")

BECK: (Singing) Come on out of your dreams and wake up from your reverie. Time is here. Don't go to sleep. The streets are running on the brink⁴.

MOON: And then it was pretty much radio silence until now.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO DISTRACTION")

BECK: (Singing) It's not the words I want to tell you. It's not the tension that I feel.

MOON: So what took so long? Chalk it up to the great paradox⁵ of song craft. Those effortless-sounding slices of pop euphoria, the moments that make you want to forget the world and crank up the volume, they often involve painstaking⁶ detail work. Beck spent almost four years recording and mixing these tracks. At least part of his challenge was making the music he'd labored⁷ over feel loose and spontaneous.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COLORS")

BECK: (Singing) Now it would only hurt to know when you don't need me. You don't need me. Found our way through the lost years.

MOON: Beck grew up in Los Angeles recording studios. Music veterans recall that his father, the arranger and orchestrator David Campbell, would sometimes bring his young son to sessions. Evidently that left an impression. Ever since "Loser," his 1994 breakthrough single, Beck has specialized⁸ in fantastical, willfully odd sonic jumbles⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M SO FREE")

BECK: (Singing) Who am I supposed to be in the middle of the day with no good connection? I'm so free now. They try to keep me down with affliction, alpha male fell asleep in the engine. I'm so free now. A horizontal aspiration¹⁰...

MOON: The new album continues Beck's postmodern pastiche¹¹ with abrasive¹² noise, thrift¹³ store sounds and his father's ear-stretching orchestrations all vying¹⁴ for attention at once. You have to listen closely. Beck's lyrics¹⁵ are more forthright¹⁶ this time, and there are even attempts at straightforward¹⁷ Beatles-influenced pop.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEAR LIFE")

BECK: (Singing) You drove your Rolls into the swamp. You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock of the price they put upon your soul. You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know.

MOON: Not every track on Beck's new album has that effortless alchemy. Sometimes it feels like the original spark is buried under layers of sheen. Those moments are reminders¹⁸ of just how hard it is to manufacture pop exuberance¹⁹ under studio conditions. And they're quickly erased²⁰ whenever another of these airborne, bliss-seeking hooks comes along.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEVENTH HEAVEN")

BECK: (Singing) I want to see you with the pharaoh's curse, the apple flower doggerel²¹. The batteries burst.

KELLY: The latest from Beck is called "Colors." Our reviewer is Tom Moon.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEVENTH HEAVEN")

BECK: (Singing) Suntan ellipse and the filigree²² of energy. What you want and what you need. Now I'm down...

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 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。

4 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

5 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

6 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

7 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

8 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

9 jumbles   

混杂( jumble的名词复数 )； （使）混乱； 使混乱； 使杂乱

参考例句：

• She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence. 将要写句子的时候，她搞乱了字词的次序。
• His grandfather sells jumbles. 他爷爷卖旧物。

10 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

11 pastiche   

n.模仿 ； 混成

参考例句：

• He has a gift for pastiche.他有模仿他人作品的天赋。Peter Baker's bathroom is a brilliant pastiche of expensive interior design.彼得·贝克的浴室是高档室内设计的集大成之作。

12 abrasive   

adj.使表面磨损的；粗糙的；恼人的

参考例句：

• His abrasive manner has won him an unenviable notoriety.他生硬粗暴的态度让他声名狼藉。
• She had abrasions to her wrists where the abrasive rope had scraped her.她的手腕有多出磨伤，那是被粗糙的绳子擦伤的。

13 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

14 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

15 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。

16 forthright   

adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank

参考例句：

• It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。
• He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

17 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

18 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

19 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

20 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 doggerel   

n.拙劣的诗，打油诗

参考例句：

• The doggerel doesn't filiate itself.这首打油诗没有标明作者是谁。
• He styled his poem doggerel.他把他的这首诗歌叫做打油诗。

22 filigree   

n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的

参考例句：

• The frost made beautiful filigree on the window pane.寒霜在玻璃窗上形成了美丽的花纹。
• The art filigree tapestry is elegant and magnificent.嵌金银丝艺术挂毯，绚丽雅典。