2020年经济学人 家庭娱乐专栏--笑料百出(1)（在线收听）

Books & arts

文艺版块

home entertainment

家庭娱乐专栏

Musical high jinks

音乐狂人

Played for laughs

笑料百出

A Norwegian comedy duo find inspiration in banality

一对挪威喜剧组合在平淡中找到灵感

The song begins in typical power-ballad fashion, with plaintive piano chords and rumbling strings. Soon, though, the lyrics go awry. The lead singer reflects on his good fortune—a successful career on television, a passionate marriage, a “thousand- dollar haircut”—but laments that he is tormented day and night by a single question. Such soft-rock numbers usually dwell on a former lover or missed opportunity; what preoccupies this man is a prehistoric monument in south-west England. “What’s the deal with Stonehenge?”he cries, his white shirt billowing in the wind. Is it “a giant granite birthday cake, or a prison far too easy to escape”?

这首歌以典型的强力情歌风格开场，搭配哀怨的钢琴和弦和隆隆的弦乐。不过，很快歌词就出了岔子。这位主唱回顾着自己的好运——成功的电视事业，激情的婚姻，“千元理发”——但他却感叹自己日日夜夜被一个问题折磨着。这样的慢摇滚通常都是关于前任或者是错过的机会；而这个人关注的是英格兰西南部的一座史前纪念碑。“巨石阵是怎么回事？”他哭着，白衬衫在风中翻滚。是“一个巨大的花岗岩生日蛋糕吗，还是一个极易越狱的监狱”？

There are few more enjoyable ways to while away an evening in lockdown than discovering the work of Ylvis, a Norwegian comedy duo.Made up of brothers Vegard and Bard Ylvisaker, the band produces delightfully absurd pastiches of various kinds of music. Many of the songs were written in English for their variety TV show, “Tonight With Ylvis”, and are best consumed on YouTube with the zany accompanying videos. This is music designed to be appreciated at home, where the lyrics can be easily digested and the videos paused or repeated when laughter ensues.

在封锁时期的晚上，没有什么比发现挪威喜剧组合Ylvis的作品更能让人愉快了。这个乐队的成员有维加德和巴德·伊尔维塞克兄弟，他们会制作各种各样的音乐，令人很愉悦但又很荒谬。他们的许多音乐是英文歌，而且是为自己的综艺节目《今夜与Ylvis》制作的，他们的音乐会配上滑稽的视频发布在YouTube上，十分受欢迎。这首是专为在家欣赏而设计的音乐，歌词易于理解，在人们的欢笑声中，视频会停止或重新播放。