美国国家公共电台 NPR Heavy Rotation: The Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Ready for some new music? Well, it's time to check in with a few public radio DJs to hear what they have in Heavy Rotation¹.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEB TALAN SONG, "BRING WATER")

CINDY HOWES, BYLINE²: Hi. This is Cindy Howes. I am a host at Folk Alley³ and also the Morning Mix host of WYEP in Pittsburgh.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BRING WATER")

DEB TALAN: (Singing) Sometimes when the well is empty, I go riding back on all the old roads.

HOWES: Something that we're really into now is Deb Talon⁴'s new song "Bring Water." Deb Talon is one half of The Weepies. And this is her first solo album in 13 years. It's been since 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BRING WATER")

TALAN: (Singing) Oh, lift me up. Can't take much more. Carry me past any open door.

HOWES: She had three kids with her husband and musical partner, Steve Tannen. She also survived some pretty serious breast cancer. She had stage three breast cancer, and it caused her to sort of lose pieces of her identity. And in order to gain it all back, she began working on this album "Lucky Girl."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BRING WATER")

TALAN: (Singing) Something's on fire. Bring water. Bring water.

HOWES: The line, bring water, something's on fire, bring water, that must be my heart - just pure poetry from Deb Talan.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BRING WATER")

TALAN: (Singing) Bring water. Bring water. Something's on fire. Bring water.

MICAH SCHWEIZER, BYLINE: I'm Micah Schweizer. I'm one of the hosts for Wyoming Sounds located in Laramie, Wyo.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWELVE STRING MILE")

OTIS TAYLOR: (Singing) I'm a big black man.

SCHWEIZER: I've been seized by Otis Taylor's new release.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWELVE STRING MILE")

TAYLOR: (Singing) Got dog, dog eyes.

SCHWEIZER: And the song that I'm highlighting is called "Twelve String Mile."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWELVE STRING MILE")

TAYLOR: (Singing) Big, big man. I got dark, dark skin. Nobody sees me.

SCHWEIZER: What I love about Otis Taylor is that he does what he calls trance blues⁵, which means that oftentimes he's hanging out for a whole song with like one or two chords, creating these moody⁶ repetitive grooves⁷. On top of that or within that, he's able to create space for these really evocative lyrics⁸. And he's able to talk about, oftentimes, really difficult subjects.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWELVE STRING MILE")

TAYLOR: (Singing) One more mile we go. Nobody sees me.

SCHWEIZER: Four years ago, in 2013, he came out with another great album called "My World Is Gone." That one tackled the treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. And I think, well, who wants to listen to such difficult songs, especially, like, as your summertime jam? But it holds you in physically⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWELVE STRING MILE")

TAYLOR: (Singing) Nobody sees me. Nobody sees me.

TALIA SCHLANGER, BYLINE: Hey. I'm Talia Schlanger. I host the World Cafe. And my Heavy Rotation pick is a song called "Moonshine Freeze" by This Is The Kit¹⁰.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOONSHINE FREEZE")

THIS IS THE KIT: (Singing) As the change sets in, we are separate. As the game begins, we are separate.

SCHLANGER: OK, isn't that right off the bat the kind of sound that you want to take a bath in? Like, you just want to let it wash over you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOONSHINE FREEZE")

THIS IS THE KIT: (Singing) Cycles of three triangles are tricky¹¹. Cycles of three triangles...

SCHLANGER: And moonshine freeze is apparently¹² based on a clapping game for kids, where you say the word moonshine three times and then you freeze.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOONSHINE FREEZE")

THIS IS THE KIT: (Singing) Moonshine, moonshine, moonshine, freeze, moonshine, moonshine, moonshine, freeze, moonshine, moonshine, moonshine, freeze.

SCHLANGER: So you hear her using the game there to repeat moonshine three times. And earlier, she refers to triangles. And I don't know. I've never thought about it this way before until I heard this song. But triangles may be the unsung heroes of shapes. Triangle is the delta¹³ symbol in math or science. It represents change. And Kate uses it here in this really interesting way in a song that is about change and about threes - triangles.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOONSHINE FREEZE")

THIS IS THE KIT: (Singing) We are found again. As the change sets in, cycles of three. Moonshine, moonshine, moonshine, freeze. Cycles of three, moonshine, moonshine, moonshine.

SIMON: You can hear more music - and we hope you will - in Heavy Rotation on our website nprmusic.org This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

1 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

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 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

4 talon   

n.爪；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物

参考例句：

• Can you get a little tighter with the talon?你能不能把摄像探头固定住不动？
• This kind of spice is made of eagle's talon and has a unique flavor.这种香料味道独特，是用鹰爪作原料制成的。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

7 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

11 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。