美国国家公共电台 NPR Death Of Chris Cornell, Front Man Of Soundgarden, Ruled A Suicide

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

And now we remember this voice.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLACK HOLE SUN")

CHRIS CORNELL: (Singing) In my eyes, indisposed, in disguises no one knows...

SHAPIRO: Chris Cornell died early this morning at age 52. He was in Detroit on tour with his band Soundgarden. The Wayne County medical examiner says the cause of death was suicide. NPR's Andrew Limbong has this appreciation¹.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE²: Arguably one of the last huge scenes of rock music was the Seattle grunge scene. And one of its ushers³ was Soundgarden.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPOONMAN")

CORNELL: (Singing) Spoonman, come together with your hands. Save me.

LIMBONG: Chris Cornell fronted Soundgarden with that type of fervor⁴ that only comes from true devotion.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

CORNELL: I was probably 17 when I knew that that was what I was going to do with the rest of my life no matter what that meant.

LIMBONG: This is him talking to NPR in 2012.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

CORNELL: Even if that meant that I had to be a dishwasher or a janitor⁵ to support being in a band that I love, I would be happy with that. So I feel fortunate that in spite of the - my lack of education, I didn't lack direction.

LIMBONG: Cornell stopped school after the seventh grade. He was born in Seattle in 1964. In 2009, he told NPR that his musical taste was like a lot of kids'.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

CORNELL: I would hear John or Paul scream on a Beatles track, you know? And I - it was just so amazing as a 9-year-old kid to listen to that.

LIMBONG: Unlike a lot of kids, he'd take that influence and Little Richard's and James Brown's and Frank Sinatra's, and he turned it into this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RUSTY⁷ CAGE")

CORNELL: (Singing) I'm going to break my rusty cage.

LIMBONG: He formed Soundgarden in 1984, and by the mid-'90s, they were huge - Billboard⁸ charts, platinum⁹ records, the Grammys. The band ended 14 years later, but Cornell continued singing, whether indulging in his softer side with his solo work...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLUTTER GIRL")

CORNELL: (Singing) I'm drinking dust with eyes of rust⁶.

LIMBONG: ...Or being part of the monster supergroup Audioslave.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE")

CORNELL: (Singing) Nail in my head from my creator, and you gave me a life. Now show me how to live.

LIMBONG: It was around this time when Cornell came to terms with his drug and alcohol abuse and checked into rehab. He got clean and stayed prolific¹⁰ with Audioslave and eventually reuniting with Soundgarden. Cornell was on tour with them when he died. The final song of their set last night - "Slaves And Bulldozers."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SLAVES AND BULLDOZERS")

CORNELL: (Singing) Now I know why you've...

LIMBONG: Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SLAVES AND BULLDOZERS")

CORNELL: (Singing) Now I know why you've been shaking. Now I know why you've been shaking. So bleed your heart out. There's no more rides for me.

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 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。

3 ushers   

n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Seats clicked, ushers bowed while he looked blandly on. 座位发出啪啦啪啦的声响，领座员朝客人们鞠躬，而他在一边温和殷勤地看着。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The minister then offers a brief prayer of dedication, and the ushers return to their seats. 于是牧师又做了一个简短的奉献的祈祷，各招待员也各自回座位。 来自辞典例句

4 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

5 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

6 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

7 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

8 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

9 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

10 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。