VOA慢速英语2015 南非与黑胶唱片的情缘

AS IT IS 2015-05-12 South African's Love Affair with Vinyl Records 南非与黑胶唱片的情缘

Benjy Mudie owns Vinyl Junky. He flips¹ through records inside his Johannesburg store.

His vinyl albums are much more expensive than CDs or MP3s –- digital audio records. Prices range from a few dollars to about $35 for a copy of a classic rock album in perfect condition.

Yet Mr. Mudie, a music expert and record label boss, says his sales have increased greatly in the past year. He says young South Africans are driving the "vinyl explosion."

"It's become hip² to have records again. A lot of young people are the bulk of the people that buy vinyl now, people under 30 that were only being born when vinyl went into decline in the mid³ (19)80s."

Benjy Mudie says young people are discovering music their parents, and even grandparents, grew up with. And they want to listen to it just like their older relatives did: on vinyl.

"They're buying the (rock) classics; they're buying (Led) Zeppelin and The Doors and (Jimi) Hendrix and The Beatles and the (Rolling) Stones."

Benjy Mudie believes increased demand for vinyl is linked to young South Africans realizing that the "age of pop idols⁴ manufactured by TV" isn't so great after all.

"Young people are looking for something different. They're tired of being force fed by contemporary radio and by record companies, force fed a diet of people that all sound the same."

But the main reason for the vinyl rise, he says, is that music simply sounds better, and feels better, on vinyl.

"Vinyl to me sounds warmer and it has depth, it's got echo, it's got soul, whereas digital is very clear, very precise; very Teutonic. But it's soulless! Vinyl is visceral! It's a visceral experience. You take it, you pick it up; it's something to look at. You can't look at an MP3."

A few years ago, Kevin Stuart started selling his vinyl collection from home to earn money. Seeing a big demand for his records, he opened the Record Mad Shop in northern Johannesburg.

Inside his store, the needle on a record player begins a recording⁵.

"I get a lot of young people coming in here and saying, my dad just gave me his record player, a bunch of records and a record player, so I'm expanding on that. I think it was definitely driven by media and by reviewers and I think people just got really, really sick and tired of MP3s."

"Do you like Modest Mouse? Cos we've got the new one in of that."

An assistant helps a customer at Mr. Stuart's store.

"I think a lot of people can still relate to records: My dad had this; my mom had this; I grew up listening to Noddy on vinyl or Led Zeppelin, or AC/DC or whatever it was."

Kevin Stuart says the rebirth of vinyl is resulting in a rebirth of music in South Africa.

"People are connecting with music again in a way that our parents used to, our hippie fathers and our acidhead mothers!"

Stuart does expect the hype, or intense excitement, about vinyl to decrease. But he adds that a real love of vinyl records has been brought to life again, and South Africans are all the better for it.

Words in This Story

vinyl record – n. an analog⁶ audio recording

comeback – n. a return to being popular

hip – n. informal; knowing about and following the newest styles, very popular

bulk – n. the largest part of something

visceral – adj. coming from strong emotions and not from logic⁷ or reason

hype – n. talk that is intended to make people excited or interested in something or someone

1 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

2 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

3 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

4 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。