美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Good Booty': Backing Up How Music And Sex Helped Shape American Culture

 

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Punk, rock 'n' roll, soul, gospel, jazz - NPR music critic Ann Powers takes us on the wide-ranging history of American pop music in her new book "Good Booty: Love And Sex, Black And White, Body And Soul In American Music." No big deal, just all of that. And she joins me now from Nashville, Tenn. Ann Powers, great to talk with you.

ANN POWERS, BYLINE¹: Thank you so much for having me on.

BROWN: Well, of course, we can't start a conversation with a music critic without a little music. Hit it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TUTTI FRUTTI")

LITTLE RICHARD: (Singing) Tutti frutti, oh Rudy (ph). Tutti frutti, oh Rudy. Tutti rutti, oh Rudy. Tutti frutti, oh Rudy. Tutti frutti, oh Rudy.

BROWN: Thanks to you and your book title for the opportunity to play some of this oldie but goodie. Tell us about the inspiration Sir Little Richard played in this book title.

POWERS: Well, in the song we all know, it's tutti frutti, oh, Rudy. But in the original, it was good booty. And the lyrics² were very, very dirty, frankly³. They were something you couldn't play on the radio. So when he went to record it, he and a young woman named Dorothy LaBostrie rewrote the lyrics and made them that wonderful nonsense. And, you know, Dwane, I think nonsense is a key element of rock 'n' roll and of American music. And when I say nonsense, I mean language that goes beyond linear understanding. And just like our experience of sexuality and eroticism, we have to go to another place to really feel it.

BROWN: OK. So moving on, but only a little bit to your subtitle⁴, "Love And Sex, Black And White, Body And Soul In American Music." Let's take a look at each of those briefly⁵, if you would, starting with love and sex. That, of course, Ann, has certainly been a focus, even an inspiration, for many songs over the centuries. But why did you want to center much of the book around this connection?

POWERS: Well, you're absolutely right that it's cliche⁶ to say that popular music and particularly rock 'n' roll is about sex. But I wanted to go deeper. You know, I wanted to go beyond just that cliched statement - oh, yeah, of course, this is dirty music or whatever - and really think about how in every era from the 19th century to the present, particular anxieties of the time and the possibilities of that time were reflected in and shaped by music.

So, for example, in the '50s, the teenager was this newly named phase of life. And people were very worried about young kids experimenting sexually, so the music reflected that. The music also guided kids through their early attempts to be erotic beings. Now, kids are living on the Internet. We're all living on the Internet. So I talk about how artists like Britney Spears with their very processed voices kind of embody⁷ virtual reality and a cyborgian way of being that reflects what's happening erotically in cyberspace⁸.

BROWN: Onto the "Black And White" of the subtitle. Again, you write that music allows people to ride the storm that arises when desire encounters the roadblocks of prejudice, moral judgment⁹ or cruel circumstance. How do you see that playing out today, or do you?

POWERS: What I think is that music reflects the best of us coming together but also has offered a way for communities to preserve their own traditions and legacies¹⁰ and to speak to each other through those legacies. I'm not saying it's utopian. And I'm not saying that it's all about liberation. I think it's important to recognize that in music, we share our ugliest emotions as well as our most beautiful emotions. And all that stuff is happening when an artist like Beyonce is articulating both the rage and the hope of a moment that's very frightening for many of us.

BROWN: OK. Let's get in the final part of the subtext, "Body And Soul." Just briefly here, are we talking disco and gospel or what?

POWERS: For me, the soul and the body are not separate. And I think music is that connective tissue that reminds us that all of our experiences, even transcendent experiences, are generated in our bodies. And that's why in a disco, a place where maybe it seems like it's just a bunch of fun and, you know, hedonistic nightlife, there also is a spiritual side. And you have an artist like Sylvester, one of the great singers of the '70s, whose voice lifted people up in the same way that a gospel singer would.

And, you know, not to always go back to Beyonce, but I think she's showing us that. You know, I think she's showing us that with the fact that she dances in the same way that the ring shout dancers danced in the early 19th century, you know, that she's making those same moves. And she's tapping into those same stories. They live on through music.

BROWN: NPR music critic Ann Powers. Her book is called "Good Booty: Love And Sex, Black And White, Body And Soul In American music." Ann Powers, thanks so much.

POWERS: Thank you so much for having me.

1 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。

2 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。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

7 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

8 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句