英闻天下——146 2012 Review: Gangnam Style

 　　Gangnam Style is performed by South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang, better known by his stage name PSY. The single was first released on July 15, and in roughly five months' time, its music video successfully garnered¹ more than 1 billion views on the video-sharing website YouTube, so far the only video in history to ever hit that mark.

 

　　The success did not stop there. By the end of the year, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, and here in China. It also topped the iTunes chart in the United States, a market notoriously difficult to crack open even for British artists who share the same language as their American counterparts.

 

　　With "Gangnam Style" now entering most non-Korean speakers' vocabulary, one question becomes inevitable⁴: Just what exactly is "Gangnam Style"? Well, here's the definition:

 

　　Gangnam Style noun

 

　　A lavish⁵ lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district in Seoul, which is considered the most affluent⁶ area in South Korea. People there are trendy, hip⁷ and exude⁸ a certain supposed "class".

 

　　This all sounds fine and dandy, but what does it have to do with the general public? According to scholars and analysts⁹, the song is great social satire¹⁰ and pokes¹¹ fun at the rich and famous, and that's why people everywhere can relate to it.

 

　　Zhou Heyang, a pop culture enthusiast¹² with a special focus on Asia, has a slightly different take.

 

　　"I think when he was in the music video, PSY seemed very happy and cheerful, so perhaps the message of the video isn't so much that the Gangnam Style is hollow and meaningless, but it's really about living large, it's more about attitude. And in a society like Korea, or more or less in China, that is obsessed¹³ with money, status, power, and consumerism, it is a reminder¹⁴ that the best things in life are free, or at least don't require maxing out your credit cards."

 

　　Wang Wei, a long-time fan of rap music, agrees. He says while a social message can be the icing on the cake, it's not the necessary component¹⁵ of a successful rap song. What attracts listeners is usually the attitude, and of course, the beat.

 

　　"Sometimes it is just the tune² and the feel that catches you, but not really the meaning of the lyrics¹⁷, especially when it comes to rap music and hip-hop music. Most people just don't have a clue what they are talking about in the beginning, until they really fell for the song, and then they dig out all the lyrics. So basically people have this trend to listen to songs just because of their catchy¹⁸ tunes³."

 

　　In various newspaper articles, PSY himself has admitted that the song is not that deep. With the current woeful economic climate, he simply wants to make people forget about their troubles and be happy for a minute with the fun beats and crazy dance moves.

 

　　Clearly, he has achieved his goal.

 

　　"I liked it. Oh, it was funny. I just do, I just like it so much! I like the beat, I can dance to it. The way you feel about it, is just like awesome¹⁹. Made me feel very good. Very child-like. Happy! That's uplifting. Upbeat, alive, fantastic. I loved it!"

 

　　Perhaps there lies the biggest contributing factor to PSY's phenomenal success. He is more than willing to use self-deprecating humor to make people laugh. And that is a lesson for Chinese artists if they want to overcome the language barrier and be embraced by a global audience.

 

　　And while PSY does not take himself too seriously, he does take his country and fellow Koreans seriously. And this only adds to his charm, and in turn, makes him more popular and successful.

 

　　"I can speak English, but still, if I have a chance, I want my music, lyric¹⁶ to be Korean, because Gangnam Style's working right now, right? The world's most famous and popular language is music, so if we have some sort of, like, solution with this kind of dance moves and this kind of music video so that I can use Korean if possible, then it's really huge history for my country. So I'm thinking about that too."

 

　　As Gangnam Style continues to gain popularity and ubiquity, its signature dance moves have been attempted by notable world leaders such as British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who hails the song as a "force for world peace".

 

　　Hopefully in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to witness some Chinese success stories as big as, or even bigger than PSY and his "Gangnam Style".

 

　　For CRI, I'm Liu Yan.

1 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

6 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

7 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

8 exude   

v.(使)流出，(使)渗出

参考例句：

• Some successful men exude self-confidence.有些成功的人流露出自信。
• The sun made him exude sweat.烈日晒得他汗流浃背。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

11 pokes   

v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• He pokes his nose into everything. 他这人好管闲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。 来自辞典例句

12 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

13 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

15 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

16 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

17 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。

18 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

19 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.