VOA常速英语2014--2013年度最佳传统音乐

 

2013: The Year in Roots Music 2013年度最佳传统音乐

As we close out 2013, it's time to share some highlights of American Roots music highlights for the year.

2013年已然逝去，让我们来分享一些点亮本年度的最佳美国传统音乐吧。

They include Slaid Cleaves¹’ 10th release-“Still Fighting The War.” The original inspiration for the song  came to Cleaves from a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning  photos of Iraq War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder². It’s a song that ended up taking him four years to write.  其一便是Slaid Cleaves的单曲——《依然在战斗》。这首歌曲的最初创作灵感源自Cleaves看见的普利策奖得主的一组照片，关于从伊拉克战争上退伍并患上创伤后应激障碍的军人。

“I’d seen stories in the news about Vets³ coming back and having a hard time and you know, frankly⁴, I knew…I remember writing down in a notebook when we went to war  in Iraq… I said ’10 years from now, we’re going to have Iraq War Vets on every street corner, they’re going to be homeless," Cleaves said. "They’re going to be  having a hard time adjusting. It’s going to be the Vietnam situation all over again.’ I wanted to write a song that kind of told their story. Not to advocate or  anything. But just tell their story-that people are having a hard time coming back.”

“我之前曾看过关于退伍军人回国需要一段时间来适应新环境的报道，事实上，我记得自己曾在日记本上写道，‘我们要去伊拉克战斗了。’我曾说过，10年以后，我们的大街小巷散布来了  退伍军人，他们将无家可归。” Cleaves 表示，他们需要熬过很长一段适应期，越南战争之后的那种情形会再一次上演。“我想写一首歌曲可以记录一些他们的故事，并非倡议什么，只是简  单地述说他们回国后所经历的黑暗岁月。”

Other discs receiving widespread acclaim⁵ this year include “American Kid,” the seventh release by Austin singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, “The Ash & Clay”-- a disc  showcasing great harmonies by indie folk duo The Milk Carton Kids -- and “Build Me Up From Bones,” which earned Sarah Jarosz two Grammy nominations⁶.

本年度备受欢迎的专辑中包括奥斯丁创作型歌手Patty Griffin的第七张唱片《美国小子》。歌曲《灰烬》展示了The Milk Carton Kids悠扬的独立民谣二重唱，此外，《从骨子里重塑我》使  Sarah Jarosz获得了两项格莱美大奖提名。

It has also been a big year for Nashville-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Jason Isbell. “Southeastern,” Isbell’s first album since quitting drinking, getting  married and, as he puts it, “straightening my life out” has landed on many music critics’ “Best of 2013” lists. Isbell creates vivid characters in his songs,  blending country, rock and soul.  After spending much of this year touring the U.S., Canada and Europe, Isbell just announced that in 2014 he will make his first ever  tour of Australia and New Zealand.

对美国田纳西州的歌手、作曲家和吉他手Jason Isbell来说，也是收获颇丰的一年。《东南方向》是Jason Isbell戒酒结婚之后的首张唱片集。正如他所言，一曲“修正我的生活”引起了音  乐评论人的兴趣，荣登“2013之最”名单。 Isbell在他的歌曲中创造了鲜明的人物形象，混搭了乡村、摇滚和灵歌。经过今年在美国、加拿大和欧洲的旅行，Isbell刚刚宣布了2014年，他将  开启首次澳大利亚和新西兰之旅。

It was a good year for bluegrass, too.  Country star Alan Jackson talked for 15 years about making a bluegrass record and finally did, calling on many of Nashville’s  best pickers to play with him.

对蓝莓音乐来说，也是成绩斐然的一年。乡村歌星 Alan Jackson 15年来一直在说要做一期蓝莓唱片，终于他成功了，并呼唤了很多乡村音乐最佳演奏者与他一起做此音乐。

Perennial⁷ favorite The Del McCoury band was back with “The Streets of Baltimore.” McCoury, who will turn 75 in two months, has been playing bluegrass and touring for  more than half a century. A new recording⁸ finds the band covering Bobby Bare’s 1966 hit on the title track and the jazz standard “Misty,” They even bring in some  honky-tonk piano as they tackle Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Once More With Feeling.”

经久不衰的Del McCoury 乐队带着他们的《巴尔的摩街巷》强势回归。McCoury将在两个月后迎来他75岁生日，他一边做蓝莓音乐一边旅行，已过半个世纪。该乐队刷新了1966年Bobby Bare的  专辑同名爵士标准曲主打歌《迷糊》，甚至融入了一些叮当琴，可与Jerry Lee Lewis的《重温旧梦》相媲美。

Other bluegrass albums of note this year include “Carry Me Home” by Old Crow Medicine Show and “Love Has Come for You,” the disc of original songs by Edie Brickell  and the actor-comedian-author-and-musician Steve Martin.

本年度值得关注的其它蓝莓音乐专辑如Old Crow Medicine Show演绎的《带我回家》，其中《爱上了你》的原创是Edie Brickell与喜剧演员、音乐家Steve Martin。

The International Bluegrass Music Association named New York based quintet The Gibson Brothers “Entertainer of the Year” for a second straight year. They also named  Eric Gibson “Songwriter of the Year” and "They Called it Music," which Gibson wrote with Joe Newberry, “Song of the Year.”

国际蓝莓音乐联盟将“最佳年度艺人”授予了带来的五重唱的纽约艺人The Gibson Brothers，“本年度最佳创作”颁给了Eric Gibson，而Gibson wrote 与Joe Newberry共同完成的《他们称 之为音乐》则获得了“本年度最佳音乐”。

1 cleaves   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This wood cleaves easily. 这木材好劈。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The water cleaves the banks away like a knife. 河水象一把刀似的，把两岸削掉。 来自辞典例句

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

6 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

7 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

8 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。