美国国家公共电台 NPR TV Christmas Specials Return With 'The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show'

 

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET IT SNOW")

KACEY MUSGRAVES AND JAMES CORDEN: (Singing) Oh, the weather outside is frightful¹...

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

You ever heard of TV Christmas specials - Bing, Andy, Nat, Judy, Liza, fuzzy Christmas sweaters? Well, they're back - sort of - for one night's entertainment. Kacey Musgraves, the Grammy-winning musical artist at home with her band and stars that include James Corden, Leon Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Lana Del Rey and the Radio City Rockettes, among so many others who just dropped by to sing.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PRESENT WITHOUT A BOW")

KACEY MUSGRAVES: (Singing) There's no red and white stripes² on a candy cane³. Silent" "Night just wouldn't sound the same. Where'd the magic go? All I know is me without you is like a present without a bow.

SIMON: Now streaming on Amazon, "The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show" is retro, jokey, tuneful and even has a puppy⁴. Kacey Musgraves joins us from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

MUSGRAVES: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: The show seems like a lot of fun to do. Was it?

MUSGRAVES: It was so much fun. It was also a gigantic⁵ challenge. It was a very big undertaking⁶, and I've had Christmas shoved⁷ in my face pretty much all year. So...

SIMON: Well, you probably did this, like, in July or something, right?

MUSGRAVES: Well, it started last year as a small idea between my band leader and I, Kyle. We thought it would be a fun way to bring my old Christmas album back in the form of, you know, those old Christmas specials that we love. From there, the ideas just started rolling. And yes, the business of Christmas starts very well before Christmas. So I've been working on it for a while.

SIMON: Let me ask about the retro part because you show an old-style control room, there's a laugh track, there's shots of families watching at home on huge, old box TV's. What were you trying to capture⁹ there?

MUSGRAVES: Well, there's this nostalgia¹⁰ that comes with Christmas that I love. There's a warmth there that I always find really pleasing about Christmas. I mean, there's a lot of reasons that we can all find the holiday stressful and annoying, but I think that we could all use more joy.

SIMON: And you have a song in this special that acknowledges¹¹ holidays can be hard for a lot of people.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS MAKES ME CRY")

MUSGRAVES: (Singing) It's the ones we miss, no one to kiss under the mistletoe. Another year gone by, just one more that I, I couldn't make it home. And I know that they say, have a happy holiday. And every year, I swear I sincerely try.

That one's hard for me to sing sometimes.

SIMON: I'll bet⁸. You've had those kinds of holidays?

MUSGRAVES: I mean, I always enjoy the holidays. But yeah. I have a grandmother on my mom's side who passed away right before Christmas. And it really changed the holiday for a while. So there's a lot of reasons, I think, that we can all find sadness there. And I think especially because we all know - you know, it's ingrained in us that we should be happy during the holidays. And it's not always that easy for people. So there was a natural element to - I don't know - showing that side, those side of the feelings, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS MAKES ME CRY")

MUSGRAVES: (Singing) Oh, but Christmas, it always makes me cry. Always.

SIMON: You talk about your Nana throughout the show.

MUSGRAVES: I do, yes, Nana.

SIMON: So that's not just a clever actor who has been made up to look like your grandmother.

MUSGRAVES: That is not a method actor. That is, in fact, my Nana, my real Nana. She is something else. Her name's Barbara. And she was my original booking agent whenever I was 10, 12 years old. She was the one carting me around in the minivan, taking me around to wherever I would sing. And she's just - she's been such a wonderful support my whole life.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE KACEY MUSGRAVES CHRISTMAS SHOW")

MUSGRAVES: (As self) Nana.

BARBARA MUSGRAVES: (As self) I thought you might like this.

MUSGRAVES: (As self) Where did you find that?

MUSGRAVES: (As self) You left it at my house last Christmas.

MUSGRAVES: (As self) Come here. Come here. I've missed you. I can't believe - what are you doing?

She came in, she delivered her lines, she gave us ad-libs, she gave us options, inflections. She's a worldwide star now. So watch out (laughter).

SIMON: Did you ever want to say, Nana, just say Merry Christmas and take a seat or...

MUSGRAVES: Well, I was nervous that - you know, it can be intimidating¹² to come in when cameras are on you if you're not used to it. I mean, it's intimidating for me sometimes. Oh, honey, no. She was nailing it just with flying colors. It was beautiful.

SIMON: That's wonderful. Christmas specials tend to be annual traditions. Is this one?

MUSGRAVES: You know, it almost killed me. So I don't know if I - if it's going to be an annual special. It honestly - it was a great challenge for me. I am not a dancer. I am nowhere near a thespian¹³ or an actor. But I'll dedicate¹⁴ myself to the bone, you know, for a creative vision¹⁵. I want to see it through.

SIMON: Kacey Musgraves, her Christmas special is on Amazon, thank you so much for being with us, and happy holidays.

MUSGRAVES: Thank you. You as well.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS")

MUSGRAVES: (Singing) And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

1 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

2 stripes   

n.（与底色不同的）条纹( stripe的名词复数 )；（军装或警服上表示等级的）臂章；纹理

参考例句：

• The plant's stem is marked with thin green longitudinal stripes. 这种植物的茎上长有绿色细长条纹。
• a zebra's black and white stripes 斑马的黑白条纹

3 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

4 puppy   

n.小狗，幼犬

参考例句：

• You must school your puppy to obey you.你要训练你的小狗服从你。
• Their lively puppy frisks all over the house.他们的小狗在屋里到处欢快地蹦跳。

5 gigantic   

adj.巨大的，巨人似的

参考例句：

• He has a gigantic appetite and eats gigantic meals.他有很大的食量，能吃很多的食物。
• The earth may be thought of as a gigantic magnet.整个地球可以想像为一块硕大无朋的磁石。

6 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

7 shoved   

推，猛推，乱推( shove的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱放； 随便放； 胡乱丢

参考例句：

• The people shoved to get on the bus. 人们你推我挤争着上公共汽车。
• He shoved me roughly aside. 他粗暴地把我推到了一边。

8 bet   

v.打赌，以(与)...打赌；n.赌注，赌金；打赌

参考例句：

• I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
• I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。

9 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。

10 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

11 acknowledges   

v.承认( acknowledge的第三人称单数 )；鸣谢；对…打招呼；告知已收到

参考例句：

• Chagrin is not something a great man often acknowledges. 一位伟大的人物往往是不肯承认自己恼羞成怒的。 来自辞典例句
• The Daily Food Guide acknowledges this by identifying the fat-sweets group. 每日膳食指南通过鉴定脂肪一糖类确认了这一点。 来自互联网

12 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

13 thespian   

adj.戏曲的；n.演员；悲剧演员

参考例句：

• If you enjoy acting in plays,join your school's thespian club.如果你喜欢戏剧表演，就加入你学校的戏剧社团。
• The actress demonstrated thespian talents at her first audition.这位女演员第一次试镜就展现出戏剧天分。

14 dedicate   

vt.献身，致力于，把（时间、精力等）用于

参考例句：

• She vowed to herself that she would dedicate her life to scientific studies.她默默地发誓要献身于科学研究。
• To my father I dedicate this volume in token of affection and gratitude.我谨以此书献给我的父亲，以表示对他的爱戴和感激之情。

15 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。