美国国家公共电台 NPR The Grammys May Not Be Hip, But For These Nominees, The Awards Still Matter

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Grammy Awards are tomorrow night. Kanye West, Drake and Justin Bieber have all said they're skipping the show, even though they're all nominees². Justin Bieber called the show irrelevant³. Frank Ocean didn't even submit his acclaimed⁴ album, "Blond," for consideration. Maybe they should nominate BJ Leiderman, who writes our theme music. He wouldn't be so particular. NPR's Mandalit del Barco tries to figure out who still cares about the Grammys.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE⁵: Newcomer Kelsea Ballerini says she's excited to be up for best new artist, along with Chance The Rapper, The Chainsmokers, Anderson .Paak and another country star, Maren Morris.

KELSEA BALLERINI: Just the fact that me and Maren are both in that category I think is really cool, and I definitely know that Nashville feels like it's a big win regardless of who actually gets the award.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PETER PAN")

BALLERINI: (Singing) The smile, the charm, the words, the spark, everything, you had it. I guess I had a naive⁶ heart 'cause boy I let you have it.

DEL BARCO: Ballerini co-wrote this chart-topping song, and she'll be performing during the Grammys' telecast tomorrow.

BALLERINI: My peers tipped their hat to me, and that made me feel really, really validated⁸ as a new artist. I don't know. It makes me feel like a cool kid.

DEL BARCO: Ballerini is elated that from now on she'll be known as Grammy nominee¹ or maybe a winner. She and others hope it leads to more records, more money, more gigs, more fans.

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE: It's also very important for the people working with you.

DEL BARCO: Jean-Michel Jarre is a French composer, performer and record producer.

JARRE: Artists are surrounded by managers, by labels and people working, giving a lot of energy and time and hope and love into what you do.

(SOUNDBITE OF JEAN-MICHEL JARRE AND JOHN CARPENTER'S "A QUESTION OF BLOOD")

DEL BARCO: Jarre has composed film scores and helped pioneer electronic music in the 1970s, but he's never won a Grammy. This year, he's up for best dance/electronic album.

JARRE: Electronic music is born in Europe and then invaded the world. So it shows that when the Grammys are recognizing somebody in the electronic music field, it's actually not only for the U.S. market but for really the international audience, so it is important.

(SOUNDBITE OF GABY MORENO SONG, "SE APAGO")

DEL BARCO: Winning a Latin Grammy four years ago made Gaby Moreno a star throughout Latin America, especially in her native Guatemala. This year, Moreno's fifth album, "Illusion," is nominated for best Latin pop album at the mainstream⁹ Grammys.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SE APAGO")

GABY MORENO: (Singing in Spanish).

The Grammys means the general market to me, and so - I don't know - for me, it's a bigger deal because you're there with the really big names in the music industry. And it opens doors for a lot more opportunities. And for myself, personally, it just motivates me.

DEL BARCO: Moreno's album was produced by Gabriel Roth, who was also a bandleader, bass¹⁰ player, songwriter and producer for Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. They were nominated for a Grammy in 2014, and Roth says winning would have meant a great deal for the late singer.

GABRIEL ROTH: I think for Sharon it was tied into a bigger goal of hers, which was basically to kind of reclaim¹¹ soul music, reclaim R&B.

DEL BARCO: Roth himself has won two Grammy Awards for producing Amy Winehouse and Booker T. But he says he's really down on the Grammys.

ROTH: It's a baloney award, man. Everybody in the industry votes for the record they worked on or the record their friend worked on or the record that they got an email that their friend said that you got to vote for this record. It's like a high school popularity contest.

DEL BARCO: But jazz pianist and bandleader John Beasley says the Grammys mean more than just the televised awards. The organization's foundation takes music to schools and helps struggling musicians. Beasley leads a 15-piece big band called MONK¹²'estra.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONK'ESTRA'S "'ROUND MIDNIGHT")

DEL BARCO: Its tribute album to Thelonius Monk is nominated in one of the jazz categories.

JOHN BEASLEY: This year is Thelonius Monk's centennial. So what we're hoping is it creates even more awareness¹³ for Monk's music. Some of it was composed 80 years ago, you know, and it sounds as fresh and has a life of its own.

DEL BARCO: Beasley is also competing in one of the arrangement categories with 22-year-old Jacob Collier, who's up for two Grammys.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLINSTONES")

JACOB COLLIER: (Singing) Flinstones, meet the Flinstones, they're a modern Stone Age family.

DEL BARCO: As in version of the "Flintstones" theme, Collier sings all the vocals¹⁴ and plays the instruments himself. The one-man band started out as a YouTube sensation.

COLLIER: I hope that the Grammys will instill a sense of faith in people who want to do things their own way and are wondering whether that's, you know, a kind of valid⁷ way of doing things.

DEL BARCO: Collier is also rooting for his friend Chance The Rapper whose album "Coloring Book" was issued online only as a music stream, and that would make his win Grammy history. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

4 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

5 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。

6 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

11 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

12 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

13 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

14 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。