美国国家公共电台 NPR--Smash hit 'Gangnam Style' turns 10 today

Smash hit 'Gangnam Style' turns 10 today

Transcript¹

"Gangnam Style," the pop song by the South Korean artist known as Psy came out ten years ago, topping charts in over 30 countries.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There have been a lot of styles over the years, but for a brief moment in time, one style ruled them all.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GANGNAM STYLE")

PSY: (Singing) Oppa Gangnam style.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

That is "Gangnam Style," the pop song by the South Korean artist known as Psy.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GANGNAM STYLE")

PSY: (Singing) Eh, sexy lady.

INSKEEP: The song created a sensation when it came out on this day 10 years ago and eventually topped the charts in more than 30 countries.

MARTIN: The video featured that crazy galloping² horse dance and was viewed 1 billion times in its first five months. Everyone was talking about it, like Ellen.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW")

ELLEN DEGENERES: So I danced to this new song that - I don't know if y'all know about this - "Gangnam Style."

INSKEEP: Even Mitt³ Romney was spotted⁴ doing the dance. But NPR Music's Stephen Thompson says this song was more than a novelty.

STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE⁵: "Gangnam Style" came on as part of this confluence⁶ of pop radio and the internet that felt really unusual for its time.

INSKEEP: The song made it normal for viral internet hits to make their way onto the pop charts.

THOMPSON: But it also opened doors for music from all over the world and really represented the way the internet can shrink the world.

MARTIN: Since "Gangnam Style," South Korea has become a pop cultural force here in the U.S. Think about the K-pop group BTS, Netflix's "Squid Game" or the film "Parasite," which became the first non-English language film to win the best picture Oscar.

INSKEEP: Oh, good movie. Michelle Cho studies Korean media at the University of Toronto and finds a connection between "Gangnam Style" and Korean crossover hits that came later.

MICHELLE CHO: I think that it's a thread. Having that recognition, I think, really paved the way for other subsequent works of art and media.

MARTIN: Now, Cho says Western audiences may miss the fact that the "Gangnam Style" video was satirizing⁷ a heavily gentrified district in Seoul. But...

CHO: You can enjoy it whether or not you know that 'cause it is an earworm, and it's kind of engineered to be really catchy⁸.

INSKEEP: And you kind of get that they're making fun of something. Stephen Thompson agrees.

THOMPSON: I just listened to it today and bopped around like crazy.

MARTIN: How could you not?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GANGNAM STYLE")

PSY: (Singing) Oppa Gangnam style.

1 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。

2 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

5 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。

6 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

7 satirizing   

v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• River morals " is novel satirizing the knight novel. " 《堂吉河德》是一部讽刺骑士小说的小说。 来自互联网
• Marlows delights in excesses, until sometimes he seems to be satirizing his own manner. 马洛老爱走极端，直到他有时嘲笑自己的态度。 来自互联网

8 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。