VOA标准英语2013--John Denver Tribute Links Musicians from Various Genres, Generations

 

John Denver Tribute Links Musicians from Various Genres¹, Generations

The musicians include southern rockers My Morning Jacket, who cover “Leaving On A Jet Plane.” The 10-piece alternative band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros reinterprets “Wooden Indian.” And multi-Grammy winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams delivers a soulful take on “This Old Guitar.” Williams says she was determined² to make the song her own.

“You know, you don’t want to do a John Denver song and sound like John Denver. I mean, you want to show that ‘Wow, look how this song can be done,” she said.“You know, the more I got into it, I was really moved. I was actually moved to tears a little ... you can hear that in the song.”

Unlike some tribute discs, “The Music Is You” was not produced to bring attention to an underrated or forgotten artist. Denver was a superstar, selling millions of records, packing concert venues³ the world over and starring in hit movies. He was instantly recognizable, even when on humanitarian⁴ missions in the most remote places.

Denver would have been 70 years old this December. Producers of the tribute CD hope that the new versions of old favorites will please Denver’s loyal followers⁵ while winning his music new fans.  Among the new versions on the release is Evan Dando of the Lemonheads singing "Looking for Space.”

Brandi Carlile, 32, grew up listening to Denver’s music and his writing inspired her own career as a singer-songwriter.

“I hope that people that love John Denver’s music will look at this album and its tribute as an honest to goodness inspired version of how we as singer-songwriters are influenced by John Denver’s music and by his lyrics⁶ and his life," she said. "I hope that they’ll see that none of us are trying to be John Denver, because that is a bar that no one will reach.”

Teaming up with Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile took on the daunting⁷ task of covering Denver’s iconic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” for “The Music Is You.” They’ve made it sound like their own song…that’s the mark of a good tribute.

1 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 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。

7 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。