滚石英文作品,滚石经典英文歌曲

本文翻译自

Thriller​www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/thriller-106975/

原作者Christopher Connelly，翻译由本人

@憨憨早就看透一切 完成，由 @雪岭洞箫声Snowii 帮忙校对捉虫。未经书面允许，谢绝任何形式的转载。

译者序

这次本憨憨活久见没有选干草叉的乐评来翻译。主要原因其实倒是比较简单——干草叉的乐评是写25周年纪念版的，于2010年代完成。而滚石这一篇是在1983年完成的。选择翻译者一篇是想和大家通过这种方式分享一下，当时的毒舌嬉皮乐评人是怎么看待当时的音乐。所以阅读的时候也请Keep in Mind，很多说法都是建立在不知道《Bad》、《Dangerous》等一系列后续作品的情况下讲的，如果不记得这一点的话可能会凌乱LOL。

另：为了配合原作者嬉皮味道爆表的行文，本憨憨的翻译这次也比较皮，还希望大家喜欢~

正文

In the three years since Michael Jacksons first solo album, Off the Wall, sold 7 million copies and spawned four hit singles, black music has veered away from the danceable but ultraslick style that Off the Wall epitomized. From Prince to Marvin Gave, from rap to Rick James, black artists have incorporated increasingly mature and adventurous themes — culture, sex, politics — into grittier, gutsier music. So when Jacksons first solo single since 1979 turned out to be a wimpoid MOR ballad with the refrain "the doggone girl is mine," sung with a tame Paul McCartney, it looked like the train had left the station without him.

三年前，MJ发行了他的第一张成年单飞专辑《Off the Wall》。这张专辑卖出了七百万张并诞生了四首大热单曲（其实单独拿出来发行的就四首，那个年代还没有iTunes这种好东西，单曲能不能拿出来放全看公司操作）。而在这三年间，黑人音乐逐渐与《Off the Wall》体现的这种丝滑讨巧的舞曲渐行渐远。从Prince到Marvin Gave，从说唱到Rick James，黑人音乐人开始越来越多地尝试讨论更加成人更加冒险的主题——文化、性、政治等等。而承载主题的形式也开始变得越发大胆。就在大家都在砥砺前行时，MJ在成年首专之后发行第一首单曲结果是一首和（被商业）驯服的Paul McCartney合唱的齁甜芭乐“The Girl Is Mine”。看上去，这班黑人音乐的车似乎把MJ落下了。

But the superficiality of that damnably catchy hit belies the surprising substance of Thriller. Rather than reheating Off the Walls agreeably mindless funk, Jackson has cooked up a zesty LP whose uptempo workouts dont obscure its harrowing, dark messages. Particularly on Jacksons own compositions, Thrillers tense, nearly obsessive sound complements lyrics that delineate a world that has put the twenty-four-year-old on the defensive. "Theyre out to get you, better leave while you can Dont wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man." Its been a challenging time for Jackson — his parents may separate, hes been involved in a paternity claim — and hes responded to those challenges head-on. Hes dropped the boyish falsetto that sparked his hits from "I Want You Back" to "Dont Stop Til You Get Enough" and chosen to address his tormentors in a full, *** voice with a feisty determination that is tinged by sadness. Jacksons new attitude gives Thriller a deeper, if less visceral, emotional urgency than any of his previous work, and marks another watershed in the creative development of this prodigiously talented performer.

结果，这首上耳而肤浅的热单下面，藏着《Thriller》这张专辑的满满惊喜。与《Off the Wall》里公认的瞎JB funk不同，虽然MJ搞出来了一张充满热情的快节奏专辑，这样的形式并没有给MJ想要传达的悲惨而黑暗的信息制造任何障碍。尤其是在MJ自己的创作中，他令人着迷的Vocal和歌词相得益彰，描绘出了一个二十四岁年轻人自我封闭的世界。而这也成了Thriller这张专辑的精髓。 "Theyre out to get you, better leave while you can Dont wanna be a boy, you wanna be a men." 专辑制作的那段时间对MJ而言并不容易——他的父母要离婚，而他又被卷入了一场和亲子关系有关的官司。而他也用他的音乐正面回应了这些困难。在《Thriller》里，他完全放弃了他在 "I Want You Back" 和 "Dont Stop Til You Get Enough" 童声味道的假声，转而完全使用他坚实而带着淡淡忧伤的真声去回应他所面对的折磨。MJ在《Thriller》里注入的全新情绪让这张专辑一股前所未有的、深刻而发自肺腑的紧迫感，而这则标志着这位本就才华横溢的歌手的创作生涯上的另一个分水岭。

Take "Billie Jean," a lean, insistent funk number whose message couldnt be more blunt: "She says I am the one/But the kid is not my son." The party spirit that suffused Off the Wall has landed him in trouble, and he tempers that exuberance with suspicion. "What do you mean I am the one," he quizzically asks his femme fatale, "who will dance on the floor?" Its a sad, almost mournful song, but a thumping resolve underlies his feelings: "Billie Jean is not my lover" is incessantly repeated as the song fades out.

比如说 "Billie Jean" ，这首干净利落的funk传达了一个不能再直接的信息： "She says I am the one/But the kid is not my son." 《Off the Wall》里钢铁直男式的情绪让他受到了不少批评，而这次他就用怀疑中和了这种傻乐。他以一种古怪的语气质问着他的致命女郎： "What do you mean I am the one." "who will dance on the floor?" 歌词而言，这是一首悲伤到几乎哀恸的歌曲，不过这些情绪却是建立在一个坚定的决心之上，就如在歌曲结尾部分不断重复的 "Billie Jean is not my lover" 一样。

Billie Jean is mentioned in passing in Thrillers most combative track, the hyperactive "Wanna Be Startin Somethin," wherein Jackson also takes on the press, gossips of all kinds and other grief-givers. Here the emotions are so raw that the song nearly goes out of control. "Somebodys always tryin to start my baby crying," he laments, and that sense of quasi paranoia yields to near-bitterness in the chorus: "Youre a vegetable, youre a vegetable/Theyll eat off you, youre a vegetable." Its a tune thats almost as exciting as seeing Jackson motivate himself across a concert stage — and a lot more unpredictable. These lyrics wont keep Elvis Costello awake nights, but they do show that Jackson has progressed past the hey-lets-hustle sentiments that dominated Off the Wall.

而Billie Jean早在《Thriller》里最具有对抗性的单曲 "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" 里出现过。在这首歌里，他对新闻出版社、各种狗仔等等人血馒头制造者展开了狂轰滥炸。在这首歌里，MJ的情绪纯粹、原始而直接，乃至于都快要失去控制了。 "Somebody’s always tryin to start my baby crying,”他惋唱着，而那种有点妄想症的感觉最终转化成了副歌里近乎无限的苦涩：“Youre a vegetable, youre a vegetable/Theyll eat off you, youre a vegetable.”而这首歌的旋律几乎能让你想象到MJ在舞台上的一举一动——扣人心弦而难以预测。虽说这些歌词能让Elvis Costello兴奋一晚上就不错了，但它们证明了MJ的词作从《Off the Wall》里随处可见的喊口号前进了一大步。

The sheer vitality of the musical setting obviates any sense of self-pity. Quincy Jones production — Jackson coproduced his own compositions — is sparer than usual, and refreshingly free of schmaltz. Then again, hes working with what might be pop musics most spectacular instrument: Michael Jacksons voice. Where lesser artists need a string section or a lusty blast from a synthesizer, Jackson need only sing to convey deep, heartfelt emotion. His raw ability and conviction make material like “Baby Be Mine” and “Wanna Be Startin Somethin” into first-class cuts and even salvage “The Girl Is Mine.” Well, almost.

虽然词里充满苦涩）这张专辑里的音乐所展现出来的活力却又抵消了任何自怨自艾的感觉。Quincy Jones的制作（MJ在自己的作曲里和Quincy一同制作）听起来并不烧钱，但又毫不狗血，让人耳目一新。当然，他拿到的声音可是来自于可能是流行音乐里最牛X的乐器——MJ的嗓子。当有些人要靠着大编制的弦乐或是充满钱味的合成器来丰满音响效果，MJ只需要他的一副好嗓子就足以传达那些浓烈的情绪。他这不讲道理的嗓子直接把“Baby Be Mine”和“Wanna Be Startin Something”这种好苗子变成了专辑里第一梯队的 *** ，甚至还拯救了“The Girl Is Mine”（这种烂歌）。Emm……拯救不至于，还差一点。

Maybe the best song here is “Beat It,” a this-aint-no-disco AOR track if ever I heard one. Jacksons voice soars all over the melody, Eddie Van Halen checks in with a blistering guitar solo, you could build a convention center on the backbeat, and the result is one nifty dance song. Programmers, take note.

或许吧，全专的最佳要数“Beat It”——一首“这TM不是迪斯科” *** 台歌曲（如果我之前有听过这种玩意儿的话）。在这首歌里，MJ的人声肆意翱翔，Eddie Van Halen让人起鸡皮疙瘩的吉他Solo更让这首歌如翼添虎。在反拍上整点活，这首歌还能变成一首超棒的舞曲。DJ们，小本本拿出来把笔记记好了。

Jacksons greatest failing has been a tendency to go for the glitz, and while hes curbed the urge on Thriller, he hasnt obliterated it entirely. The end of side two, especially “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” isnt up to the spunky character of the other tracks. And the title song, which at first sounds like a metaphoric examination of the same under-siege mentality that marks the LPs best moments, instead degenerates into silly camp, with a rap by Vincent Price. (Couldnt they get Count Floyd?)

一直以来，MJ最大的诟病就是动不动把歌整得花里胡哨。虽说他在《Thriller》里面已经有所克制，但他还是没有完全忍住。B面的结尾，尤其是“P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”，并不能和其他歌里那种火爆干练的形象相匹配。还有同名主打也有这个问题——刚开头这歌听起来像是通过隐喻对专辑最佳里那种自我封闭怀疑的心理状态的反思，结果被整成了一个浮夸而憨憨的坎普风（什么是坎普风可以去看Lady Gaga，当然LG的很多坎普风不憨就是）加上Vincent Price的rap。（就不能找Count Floyd来吗？）

Jackson has made no secret of his affection for traditional showbiz and the glamour that goes with it. His talents, not just singing but dancing and acting, could make him a perfect mainstream performer. Perish the thought. The fiery conviction of Thriller offers hope that Michael is still a long way away from succumbing to the lures of Vegas. Thriller may not be Michael Jacksons 1999, but its a gorgeous, snappy step in the right direction.

MJ从来没有掩饰过他对名气和其带来的光环有多着迷。他的天赋，包括演唱舞蹈乃至表演，足以让他成为一个完美的主流流行演出者。但想让他这么干的人都是在想屁吃。《Thriller》里那熊熊燃烧的野心和信念足够让我们相信，他离滚去拉斯维加斯恰烂钱还远着呢。《Thriller》可能不是MJ的《1999》（Prince那张），但这是他朝着正确方向迈出的热情而华丽的一步。