流行/摇滚/乡村音乐：Pop/Rock/ Country

 

       Pop/rock might seem like an overly vague designation — after all, rock & roll was catchy and melodic long before it was thought of as pop music, and from the early 60s on, nearly all pop reflected the influence of rock & roll in one way or another. But pure pop took a while to become comfortable with rocks insistent backbeat, and it wasn't until the dawn of the70s — around the time when rock & rolls first-generation fans were settling into adulthood — that truly equal pop/rock fusions became the epitome of mainstream music (as opposed to pre-rock vocal pop, which still commanded a sizable adult audience for most of the 60s).

 

　　流行／摇滚让人觉得可能是个含糊不清的概念－－在其被视作一种流行乐很久之前，摇滚是又上口又有旋律感的。从1960年代的早期开始，几乎所有的流行音乐都多少折射出摇滚乐的影响，或者说是一种相互的影响。但纯粹的流行乐的确费了一些时候才接受了来自摇滚乐中的一连串儿的重拍，并且直到1970年代初－－当第一代摇滚乐迷成长为成人的时候－－真正的、份量合适的流行／摇滚风格才变成了音乐的主流（与摇滚乐之前的1960年代中吸引了大量听众的人声流行乐相反）。

 

　　Naturally, pop/rocks primary focus was on melody — as big, catchy, and instantly memorable as possible, whether the song was a rocker, ballad, or midtempo in-betweener. But the other, less immediately apparent aspect of pop/rock was its emphasis on the professional craft of record-making. The songs were tightly constructed, with no wasted space or prolonged detours from the melodic hooks. The production was clean, polished, and bright, making full use of the advances in recording technology (and technique) that had taken place over the course of the 60s. In general, pop/rock was catchy and energetic enough to appeal to younger listeners, but clean and safe enough for adults as well. Pop/rock, however, was not soft rock; its important to realize — hard as it may be to imagine today — that the big hooks, rock instrumentation, and definite backbeat gave pop/rock an energy that would have been too edgy for more conservative listeners who hadn't grown up with rock & roll.

 

　　很自然地，流行／摇滚基本点是旋律的关注－－大气，上口，最好能立刻记住，无论这歌是首摇滚的，民谣的，还是居中不温不和的。但从另一侧面看，流行／摇滚不为众人所知的是对于专业录音方面的关注。歌曲结构很紧凑，既没有浪费的地方又没有在旋律上故意拖延吊人胃口，制作上则干净无暇，明亮华丽，充分运用录音技术的优势（和技巧）的情况在1960年代已经大量出现。普遍上来说，流行／摇滚是易于上口和活力充沛，足以吸引年轻听众的，同时又干净安全到足以满足成人听众。但是流行／摇滚毕竟不是软摇滚，因此要格外意识到－－它可以如今日的音乐一样的硬－－大气的调调，摇滚器乐的演奏，还有坚硬的节奏，给予流行／摇滚一种对于多数保守的，不是伴随摇滚乐长大的听众来讲过于锐利的力量。

 

　　Naturally, with its commercial accessibility, pop/rock produced some of the biggest stars of the 70s, such as Elton John, Peter Frampton, Paul McCartney & Wings, and Fleetwood Mac; it continued on into the 80s with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Hall & Oates, George Michael, and many others. In the 90s, pop/rock became largely the province of well-established veterans, as alternative rock, urban R&B, hip-hop, and teen pop took over the pop charts to the exclusion of most everything else.

 

　　自然而然地，伴随商业的介入，流行／摇滚造就了一些1970年代最有名的明星，如Elton John，Peter Frampton，Paul McCartney & Wings（编者：Paul McCartney是前甲壳虫的左手贝斯手，后被封爵），还有Fleetwood Mac；进入1980年代后，这种风格伴随着Billy Joel，Bruce Springsteen（编者注：拿一把Fender吉他的被称作美国的“蓝领英雄”的著名摇滚乐家），Hall & Oates，George Michael和众多其他乐人继续成长。1990年代里，流行／摇滚变成了大量其他成熟的乐风的基石，比如另类摇滚，都市节奏与布鲁斯，黑炮以及青少年流行乐（如Britney Spears），从占领流行榜并渗透到几乎每一个角度。

 

 

　　Country music is about tradition, yet its simple form lends itself to endless variations on similar themes. Like blues — the two genres often shared themes, melodies and songs — country is a simple music at its core. Most of its songs are built around three chords and a plain melody, but these forms are so basic, they allow for many different styles, from the gritty sounds of honky tonk to the jazzy improvisations of Western Swing.

 

　　乡村音乐是种传统，而其简单的形式使其由于相似的主题而被其他音乐借用，产生无数的形式。就像是布鲁斯－－这两种音乐经常有共同的主题、旋律和歌曲－－乡村乐从核心来讲是种简单的音乐。其中的多数歌曲只用三个和弦（编者注：布鲁斯也如此，经常用到的三和弦是大调的Ｉ、ＩＶ和Ｖ级和弦）和一个朴素的旋律。正因为这些形式如此的基本，它们允许加入其他众多的音乐风格，像从粗糙的honky tonk之声到西部摇摆乐风中爵士乐般的即兴进阶。

 

　　Country music grew out of American Southern folk music, both Appalachian and blues, and old-time country was simple and folky, with just guitars and fiddles. As the genre progressed, old time music evolved into the rhythmic guitar-and-fiddle driven traditional country that became the foundation of modern country music, from honky tonk and Western Swing to the pop-oriented Countrypolitan and rock-inflected Bakersfield Sound.

 

　　乡村音乐来自美国南方的民间音乐，包括阿巴拉契亚和布鲁斯乐。老式的乡村乐简单又纯朴，只有吉他和小提琴。随着此种音乐门类的发展，早年的音乐发展成为节奏感的吉他－提琴为基本演奏形式的，传统乡村为基础的当代乡村音乐，并涵盖了从honky tonk和西部摇摆，到基于流行的都市乡村乐和受摇滚影响的贝克斯费尔德之声。(连庆译自AMG)