VOA标准英语2008年-Finger Eleven Returns with Hit Song 'Paralyzer'

By Larry London
Washington D.C.
24 January 2008
 

Canada has produced many great rock artists over the years. Nickleback, Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies, and Finger Eleven. In 2003, Finger Eleven gained prominence¹ with their hit, "One Thing." The song reached number one in Canada, and the top 20 in the U.S.  Finger Eleven returned in 2007 with their release, "Paralyzer." VOA's Larry London caught up with lead singer Scott Anderson and lead guitarist James Black in Washington, D.C.

Once known as the Rainbow Butt² Monkeys, the guys in Finger Eleven settled on a less colorful name while recording³ their first album, "Thin Spirits."

Band member Scott Anderson says, "They're (the other band members) in the control room, I'm in the booth (studio). They're listening to my lyrics⁴. Very often, that's the first time they would hear them, back then. They are, like, 'What are you talking about? What are you saying with Finger Eleven?' And I'm like talking about going your own way and following your own path despite the consequences. You go and do that. That's what I'm getting at in the song. Everyone said, 'That's pretty cool.' Then we broke for lunch, and made an executive⁵ decision in the car. We're like, 'Yeah, that's the name', and that's all we said about it."

 

Guitarist James Black, who does most of the band's songwriting, says Finger Eleven spent most of the past four years performing live. They took their time with the music for the new album. "It took quite a while to even get into the songs that are on the record. The first year of writing we were still hot getting off the road, so we just played in a different mentality⁶. It was very instrumental⁷, and that doesn't leave room for vocalists. At a certain point, it was like, 'OK. Let's try some simple ideas.' So there's lots of room for vocalists. Some of those ideas were too simple. You kind of find this balance. I think it's really the length of the process was just coming down off being a live band, and coming back up being a songwriting band, then becoming a recording artist band," says Black.

The video for "Paralyzer" was filmed with 40 professional dancers. This is something very different for Finger Eleven.

 

Anderson explains, "We're on a rooftop, and we are a band. The energy coming from this band and this song is so explosive that it is creating a dance routine on the street (laughs)."

Black adds, "Really, the trick was all in camera effects. You would have a person standing⁸ and a row of people behind them, and then as the dance would move them to dance, it would look like they were blossoming⁹ out of this one person. To see it all go down was really fascinating."

Finger Eleven set out to create different sounds with the new CD, "Them-vs-You-vs-Me", and even included a banjo for the first time.

"[With] four instruments in a room just jamming at full volume, after a while you kind of run out of things to do. You do your trick, and that guy does his trick, and after a while it's just the same two tricks together," Black says. "You go looking for different sounds and different instruments and feelings. The technology now is just so you can make an electric guitar sound like a banjo, so that's maybe one that was more a luxury than anything, to go and buy a banjo. You play it differently, and you do something different, and a new song comes out, and it's an experiment that pays for itself."

In December, Finger Eleven released a two-disc DVD in Canada, titled "Us-vs-Then-vs-Now." The collection includes songs that didn't make it on the "Them-vs-You-vs-Me" album. They already have plans for their next project.

 

Black says, "And there's 14 songs on that (DVD), and quite a few of those that were written and didn't make it, but there was something about them that we felt deserved to get out there. And there (are) other songs we wrote for this album on a few drunken nights on the (tour) bus. We listened to the old demos, and we were like, 'You know what? I have the solution to this.' After having gone through the process of finishing the record and touring for a year, you kind of, with objectivity¹⁰, look at a song that didn't make it and you say, 'I know exactly what would fix this song and make it a little better.' So hopefully it'll be around on the next record."

And the next record is already available for digital downloads. For now, Finger Eleven is taking a break after their yearlong tour. Their fans hope it will not be another four years before they hear from Finger Eleven again.

1 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

2 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

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 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。

5 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

6 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

7 instrumental   

adj.仪器的，器械的，乐器的，起作用的，有帮助的

参考例句：

• It is an instrumental work.这是一部可以用乐器演奏的作品。
• He was instrumental in catching the criminal.在捉拿那个罪犯的过程中，他起了作用。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 blossoming   

v.（植物）开花( blossom的现在分词 )；发展；长成；变得更加健康（或自信、成功）

参考例句：

• Our firm is blossoming out. 我们的公司正在成长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 objectivity   

n.客观性

参考例句：

• Research is a word that most people associate with science and objectivity. 大多数人把研究这个词与科学和客观联系起来，这种联系并没有错误。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• At the level of collecting data, all the scientists strive for objectivity. 任何一个科学家，他们在收集资料的工作阶段都力争客观。