美国国家公共电台 NPR Metallica's Lars Ulrich And James Hetfield Are In It For The Long Haul

Metallica's Lars Ulrich And James Hetfield Are In It For The Long Haul

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0007:24repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

Let's begin this story with a warning. You may want to be ready to turn down the radio or, depending on your taste, turn it up. David Greene is about to tell us the story of the heavy metal band Metallica.

DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

So this story actually begins in Denmark. There was this son of a Danish tennis pro², and he may have actually had a promising³ career in that sport himself. But then he saw something that would change his direction for ever.

LARS ULRICH: I was 9 years old. There was a tennis tournament in Copenhagen, and all the players got invited to the Deep Purple concert. And my dad dragged me along. I'd never seen a racket like that before. Or...

GREENE: A racket both in terms of tennis and music (laughter).

ULRICH: There you go. Very good.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HIGHWAY STAR")

DEEP PURPLE: (Singing) I love it, and I need it. I feed it.

GREENE: Young Lars Ulrich was hooked. He got a drum set. And when the family moved to Los Angeles, he put an ad in the classifieds.

ULRICH: Drummer looking for other musicians to form, you know, hard rock band. And lo and behold⁴, James Hetfield called, and it was not an immediate⁵ connection.

JAMES HETFIELD: Lars was there with a hodge-podge drum kit⁶ that was three different colors, and he had two cymbals⁷ that were cracked and falling over. And, you know - tried to play a couple of songs and then we just looked at each other said, yeah, we'll call you, you know.

(LAUGHTER)

GREENE: Doesn't exactly sound promising, but these guys, drummer Lars Ulrich and guitar-singer James Hetfield gave it another go and created one of rock's biggest bands, Metallica. In the early '80s, their aggressive sound and punk-rock attitude stood out in the West Coast metal scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEEK AND DESTROY")

METALLICA: (Singing) Searching, seek and destroy.

ULRICH: In LA at the time, everything was about hair and makeup⁸ and how you looked and the costumes and all that type of stuff. And so I said, you know, leather jackets and smelly T-shirts and dirty jeans and...

GREENE: Smellier, the better.

ULRICH: The smellier, the better.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MASTER OF PUPPETS")

METALLICA: (Singing) Obey your master. Master - master of puppets...

GREENE: So Lars, I got to tell you, some people listen to our program who are just waking up. And...

ULRICH: (Laughter) Good morning.

GREENE: For our listeners who aren't big metal fans and might be wishing they could throw the radio at the wall right now, how would you try and bring them in and tell them that this is the kind of music that...

ULRICH: Well, I would first say that I would like everybody to know that the musical excerpt⁹ you just heard is now officially in the Library of Congress. So take that with you, Mr. Radio-throwing, not-have-your-coffee-yet guy. You know, you're disrespecting national treasures here.

HETFIELD: Breaking things doesn't help, really. Come on.

GREENE: Save your radio.

HETFIELD: That might feel good for a second, you know.

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "MASTER OF PUPPETS")

HETFIELD: It's so easy to decide what I don't like. And my kids, you know, obviously, they're DJs sitting in the shotgun seat in the truck. And they're playing some stuff that I'm not into. But I look at them, and I see joy. And I see them connecting with something. And how can I deny that? There's something I can find in there that's good, and it usually is the passion.

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "MASTER OF PUPPETS")

GREENE: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich the founders¹⁰ of Metallica have been making music together for more than 30 years, and they just keep cranking it out. Today, they're releasing their 10th studio album, "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct."

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "ATLAS¹¹, RISE!")

GREENE: These two guys still write most of the band's music together, pushing one another to experiment with their instruments.

ULRICH: This is not a traditional sort of singer-songwriter sitting down with an acoustic¹² guitar and then three hours later comes a song.

HETFIELD: I'm a frustrated¹³ wannabe drummer, and he's frustrated wannabe guitar player and singer. So I guess that's how it works out so well.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ATLAS, RISE!")

METALLICA: (Singing) Right on me - die as you suffer in vain. Own all the grief and the pain.

GREENE: Now, the partnership¹⁴ has not always been easy. In 2004, Metallica produced a documentary that exposed deep tensions in the band, especially between Lars and James.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SOME KIND OF MONSTER")

HETFIELD: Can hear you.

ULRICH: So I...

HETFIELD: No, when you say - you're telling me what to play right now. You're telling me, you should play with - what Kirk's doing. And I'm telling you it's stock.

ULRICH: Dude, fine.

GREENE: The film crew had full access to the therapy sessions.

ULRICH: At that point, we had been together for just about 20 years, and we had never really had a conversation about how we were feeling, what was sort of going on. So there was a performance coach, I think is the word that he prefers.

GREENE: Not group therapist?

ULRICH: Over therapist - either way is fine. So he was brought in to try to facilitate some communication.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SOME KIND OF MONSTER")

PHIL TOWLE: What do you - what's it like to be you?

ULRICH: It's frustrating¹⁵.

TOWLE: Like, angry? Like, fear?

ULRICH: It's just frustrating. OK? I don't know.

HETFIELD: That movie was super therapeutic¹⁶ (laughter) for all of us. And...

GREENE: You saw some faults that you saw in yourself. I mean...

HETFIELD: Oh, there's no doubt. To actually watch myself disconnect or get so wound up and pissed that I leave the room and then I slam a door and, you know, that's my statement and how childish that is - and so learning a lot about myself through that.

GREENE: It's amazing. And maybe this is unfair, but to be talking to two of the most well-known metal rockers in history in this gentle way about emotions, it's really fascinating.

HETFIELD: Well, I'll tell you, music is all about emotion, I tell you.

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "MOTH¹⁷ INTO FLAME")

HETFIELD: You know, when we're onstage and we're performing, I'm looking at people transform in front of me. And, you know, one guy might just be standing¹⁸ there with his jaw¹⁹ open going oh, my God, look at the lasers. And somebody else is just losing their mind in a mosh pit, just bouncing off each other, sweating on each other and sharing all of their bodily fluids (laughter).

GREENE: So 12 years ago, rock fans saw this movie showing Metallica nearly imploding²⁰. Now do these guys still have issues?

HETFIELD: No, no, no, not at all. We're brothers. We love each other. We hate each other. I mean, I've known Lars longer than most of the people in my life except for some family.

ULRICH: We're awesome²¹, yeah. We realize now that there's nothing creatively or nothing practically that's worth damaging that relationship over, so we back off now. And - dare I use the word - empathy shows up occasionally in this band now. Wait a minute. Like, I wonder how he's feeling about this.

GREENE: For these two 50-something dads, getting out on tour can be tough. I mean, it takes them away from family and, well...

Is it harder on the body than it was 30 years ago?

ULRICH: Let me confirm that for you, yes. Yes, it's much harder on the body than it was 30 years ago.

HETFIELD: You know, there's tennis elbow. I don't know if there's guitar finger or whatever, but actually, I must say, there's headbanger's neck.

(LAUGHTER)

HETFIELD: Headbanger's neck.

GREENE: That's a diagnosed syndrome²² then (laughter)?

HETFIELD: It is now. I just did it. I just did it. Dr. Hetfield has just now (laughter) diagnosed headbanger's neck.

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "MOTH INTO FLAME")

GREENE: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from Metallica - their new album out today is called "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct."

INSKEEP: David Greene with Metallica on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "MOTH INTO FLAME")

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

7 cymbals   

pl.铙钹

参考例句：

• People shouted, while the drums and .cymbals crashed incessantly. 人声嘈杂，锣鼓不停地大响特响。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The dragon dance troupe, beating drums and cymbals, entered the outer compound. 龙灯随着锣鼓声进来，停在二门外的大天井里。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

8 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？

9 excerpt   

n.摘录，选录，节录

参考例句：

• This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
• Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？

10 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

11 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

12 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

13 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

15 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

17 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

18 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。

19 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

20 imploding   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding. 他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。 来自辞典例句
• Just like silver stars imploding we absorb the light of day. 身披白昼之圣光光没银星俱裂亡。 来自互联网

21 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

22 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。