VOA标准英语2014--Mad World: 80s New Wave Rock Acts in Their Own Words

 

Mad World: 80s New Wave Rock Acts in Their Own Words

Music fans have already seen songs of the 1960s get their due and the sounds of the 1970s have been endlessly analyzed¹ as well. But what about the 1980s?  The authors of a new book are celebrating the music of the era.  

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know your Devo from your Ultravox -- "Mad World" is an oral history that will put those bands in context² and tell the stories behind 35 hits from what author Lori Majewski calls “the last golden age of pop,” the years 1978 to 1985.

“[19]80s New Wave doesn’t get the props³, it doesn’t get the respect that Grunge and Punk and Classic Rock gets," she said. "We thought about it as a time with men in makeup⁴ and MTV and, ’Oooh, they’re visual artists. They do videos, they’re not serious musicians.’ Well, on the contrary. They were. They just thought of things as a full package with the visuals included. Thirty-five years later, we’re still listening to these songs. So we thought, gosh, it’s really time that we give New Wave its due.”

The first band Majewski and co-author Jonathan Bernstein talked to was Duran Duran.

“They’re the Rolling Stones of this era," said Majewski. "To say you have them, pretty much everyone else fell into place after that.”

Was there one big “get” for her? A group or musician she really didn’t think would participate?

“I was really thrilled when we got quotes from Morrissey," she said. "Not only does he do very few interviews, but he does very few interviews when it has to do with The Smiths.”

But it wasn’t just Morrissey who sat down to talk about the band he fronted, The Smiths. His co-writer and guitarist Johnny Marr took part, too -- along with drummer Andy Rourke. But, it seems the lead singer had a different memory of things.

“He said he felt the other Smiths were quote ‘embarrassed’ by his lyrics⁵ to 'How Soon is Now,' some of his most seminal⁶ lyrics. ‘I am human, and I need to be loved. Just like everybody else does," Majewski said.

Majewski says she had a hard time believing the other Smiths would be embarrassed by those lyrics, so she asked them. The answer?

“We were blown away by them, as we were blown away by all of them,” she said.  "So it’s interesting, 35 years may have passed, 30 in the case of this song in particular, but Morrissey still feels the same. He was an insecure wound of a teen then and he still is today.”

The book "Mad World" includes photos and biographical⁷ info about the artists, as well as commentary⁸ about the iconic songs from the era. Co-author Jonathan Bernstein says there are a few things today’s musicians could learn from their New Wave brethren about taking risks and experimenting. Many of the artists profiled in the book were self-taught, do-it-yourselfers driven by the need to be creative. Gary Numan, for example, had never even seen a synthesizer before he used one to write the song “Cars.”

“Gary Numan was in this punk band called Tubeway Army," Bernstein said.  "He went into the studio with his band to make a punk album. There was a synthesizer lying around, just waiting to be picked up and carried off. He’d never played a synthesizer before. He pressed the button and the sound that was already set in the synthesizer just started rumbling⁹. And that completely changed his perspective on what his music was going to be.”

At their website, MadWorldBook.com, authors Majewski and Bernstein have put together New Wave mix-tape ideas, videos, photos and even a few extra stories that didn’t make it into the book.

1 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

3 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

4 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

5 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。

6 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

7 biographical   

a.传记(体)的

参考例句：

• The village paper published biographical sketches of the boys. 村里的报纸还刊登了两个小孩的小传。
• I gathered biographical notes from other Red Army leaders. 我向红军其他领导人搜集传记材料。

8 commentary   

n.评论，评注；实况广播报导，现场口头评述

参考例句：

• He is giving the commentary on the basketball game.他正在对篮球赛作评论。
• His running commentary on the football match was excellent.他对这次足球赛所作的实况报道十分精彩。

9 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。