美国国家公共电台 NPR--Will the soundtrack to 'Top Gun: Maverick' stack up against the original?

Will the soundtrack to 'Top Gun: Maverick¹' stack up against the original?

Transcript²

The sequel to Top Gun opens in theaters over Memorial Day weekend. The soundtrack from the original movie was a major success. The music for Top Gun: Maverick has a lot to live up to.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tom Cruise made a sequel to "Top Gun." And you know where that leads - the danger zone. I'm avoiding singing it, but it's in your head. Tim Greiving reports on the classic soundtrack.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

TIM GREIVING, BYLINE³: The new "Top Gun: Maverick" opens the exact same way as the old "Top Gun." Fighter jets line up on an aircraft carrier, accompanied by the tolling⁴ of synthesized bells and an accelerating pop heartbeat by composer Harold Faltermeyer. Then the jets take off and push the throttle⁵ forward into the danger zone.

(SOUNDBITE OF KENNY LOGGINS SONG, "DANGER ZONE")

KENNY LOGGINS: It's iconic. It's just part of that era. It conjures⁶ up memories of younger days for all of us.

GREIVING: Kenny Loggins was invited to a cattle call for singers and songwriters at a screening room on the Paramount⁷ lot in 1986. "Top Gun" producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson had developed a very successful formula - commissioning hit songs paired with MTV-style filmmaking, most recently at the time in "Flashdance." Every pop artist in town wanted to take their next ride.

LOGGINS: And I think everybody was excited about that opening scene with the planes going off the aircraft carrier. But when the volleyball scene came on, I said, we're going to write for this; no one else is going to write for this scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PLAYING WITH THE BOYS")

LOGGINS: (Singing) Playing, playing with the boys. Staying, playing with the boys.

GREIVING: Most of the film's songs had already been written by Simpson and Bruckheimer's go-to composer Giorgio Moroder, the disco king who ruled Hollywood in the early '80s with songs like this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLASHDANCE... WHAT A FEELING")

IRENE CARA: (Singing) What a feeling. Keep believing.

GREIVING: Moroder wrote "Danger Zone" with lyricist Tom Whitlock, who just prior had been Moroder's gofer who looked after his Ferrari. At the last minute, Kenny Loggins was invited to sing the macho opening number, and he took inspiration for the vocal⁸ from a surprising source - Tina Turner.

LOGGINS: She was very aggressive for an R&B singer that had moved over into a rock 'n' roll direction.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANGER ZONE")

LOGGINS: (Singing) Highway to the Danger Zone. Take you right into the Danger Zone.

GREIVING: "Danger Zone" took off - not just in the movie, but it became a No. 2 hit and a mainstay in Loggins' career. There were pros⁹ and cons¹⁰ about it being so huge.

LOGGINS: It almost got stuck to that first Gulf¹¹ War. But on the other hand, years later when I brought it back into my show, it had achieved an iconic status that I didn't see coming. We'll see how that holds through in "Maverick." It must be working because Tom wouldn't leave it in if it wasn't.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANGER ZONE")

LOGGINS: (Singing) Highway to the Danger Zone.

GREIVING: The other big song in "Top Gun" was a love ballad¹² for Maverick and his flight instructor¹³, played by Kelly McGillis. Moroder and Whitlock wrote a melancholy¹⁴ slow-jam and had a few different female vocalists try it out. One of them was Terri Nunn from the band Berlin.

TERRI NUNN: The original song didn't work for me as a romantic song. The demo kind of went (singing) watching every motion in this foolish lover's game.

I'm listening to this going, I'm not getting a buzz from this. I don't feel romantic. So I took the - his melodies and made them longer. (Singing) Watching every motion in this foolish lover's game.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TAKE MY BREATH AWAY")

BERLIN: (Singing) On this endless ocean, finally, lovers know no shame. Turning and returning to some secret place inside.

GREIVING: The song was used in multiple places throughout the movie, shot to No. 1 on the charts and won an Oscar. That's a lot to live up to for the new film, which features a romantic ballad by Lady Gaga.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOLD MY HAND")

LADY GAGA: (Singing) So cry tonight, but don't you let go of my hand. You can cry every last tear.

GREIVING: Time will tell if it takes our breath away.

For NPR News, I'm Tim Greiving.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOLD MY HAND")

LADY GAGA: (Singing) Promise you'll just hold my hand. Hold my hand. Hold my...

1 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 tolling   

[财]来料加工

参考例句：

• A remote bell is tolling. 远处的钟声响了。
• Indeed, the bells were tolling, the people were trooping into the handsome church. 真的，钟声响了，人们成群结队走进富丽堂皇的教堂。

5 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

6 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

7 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

13 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

14 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。