VOA慢速英语2013 纪念美国传奇摇滚音乐人卢·里德

 

Remembering Rock and Roll Legend Lou Reed 纪念美国传奇摇滚音乐人卢·里德

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning English.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

On the show today, we play some music by Lou Reed, who died earlier this week.

But first, we tell you about a new stage production of a classic play.

‘The Glass Menagerie’ Revisited

The Tennessee Williams play “The Glass Menagerie” was first performed in 1944. The next year its New York production on Broadway won the Drama Critics Circle Award.

The story of heartbreak and lost dreams has held true for theater goers in the many years since. “The Glass Menagerie” was also adapted for film, television and  radio.

Now, the show is back on Broadway. Christopher Cruise tells about it.

When people enter New York’s Booth Theater, they see a simple but striking stage. It looks like a small apartment, with a sofa, a dining room table and a few other  pieces of furniture. There is also a long fire escape reaching upward, but no walls. Everything else, all around, is black. The set appears to be floating in an empty  space.

“I want people who hate the theater to see it.”

That is Cherry Jones. She plays Amanda Wingfield, the strong-willed mother in the play.

“Because I really do think it’s one of those productions that could change people’s minds about the theater. This production takes people places they have never  been before.”

The first Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat on A Hot Tin Roof.” But “The Glass Menagerie” was the most autobiographical of all his  plays. It was also the least naturalistic. It calls for music and magic.

Director John Tiffany says Williams’ made very clear in his stage directions that “The Glass Menagerie” is impressionistic.

“He begs us, as theater makers², not to go down the path of naturalism, not to have a real Frigidaire (refrigerator), he says, and real ice cubes tinkling³ in a glass.  For Tennessee, that wasn’t where theater was at its best. He said it’s a place of the imagination, where poetry, not just poetry of words, but poetry of gesture,  poetry of design, poetry of lighting⁴, poetry of acting⁵, all comes together and meets in the space above and between the audience and actors.”

Film and television actor Zachary Quinto is appearing his first Broadway show in this remake of “The Glass Menagerie.”  He plays Tom, the character Tennessee  Williams based on himself. Williams’ real name was Tom.

Zachary Quinto says he read a lot about Williams to prepare for the play. He says he learned about the playwright’s complex relationships with his mother and sister.

“Learning that dynamic and understanding that Tennessee spent his entire life both trying to capture something in his writing, but also trying to escape something in  his writing, was something that informed me a great deal.”

In the play, the father no longer lives with his family. Tom, the young writer, works in a shoe factory and has little hope of getting a good-paying job. He helps  support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura, who is physically⁶ disabled and emotionally disabled.

In real life, Tennessee Williams’ sister was identified as a schizophrenic. She was sent to a mental hospital. In an effort to help Laura, doctors performed an  operation on her brain called a lobotomy.

“How tragically⁷ her life unfolded, is something Tennessee never fully⁸ reconciled within himself or probably even forgave himself for, on some level.”

Cherry Jones says all the characters in “The Glass Menagerie” are desperate, especially Amanda.

“Her son is about to fly away, never to be seen or heard from again. And she knows it. And her daughter is mentally completely stifled⁹. She cannot move. And so it’s  like a parent with a severely¹⁰ challenged child, physically or mentally: ‘what in the world is going to happen to that child when I’m gone.’”

So Amanda urges to Tom to invite a “gentleman caller” to date his sister. But in this play, as so often in life, things do not always work as planned.

Remembering Rock and Roller Lou Reed

It was a sad week for rock and roll fans. Singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader Lou Reed died Sunday at the age of 71. Reed was a music legend. As leader of  the 1960s and 70s band The Velvet¹¹ Underground and as a solo artist Reed was hugely influential¹².

Our producer Caty Weaver¹³ has been a fan of the artist for more years than she will say. She was lucky enough to meet him. Caty joins me now to talk about Lou Reed and  play some of his music. Hi Caty.

Hi Kelly.

So, that song “Walk on the Wild Side” was Lou Reed’s biggest hit. He released it in 1973, a year after he left the Velvet Underground.

Did he walk on the wild side? What is this song about?

He did walk on the wild side. But the song was really about people that he hung around with a lot. Andy Warhol, the artist, was a big fan of the Velvets and provided  them with a performing space. He really helped them gain a following. “Walk on the Wild Side” was about some of the people who hung out at Warhol’s studio, The  Factory.

It is a song about drugs, sex, transgenders and prostitution. It has an infectious beat but there is a lot of pain in the lyrics¹⁴.

And, Reed himself was a drug abuser, right?

He was. He was a heroin¹⁵ user for years. He stopped in the 80s but didn’t quit drinking alcohol. His liver was damaged by many years of drugs and alcohol. And, he had  a liver transplant earlier this year. The Velvets’ song “Heroin” is probably the most truthful¹⁶, sad and yet appealing song about that drug and its hold on people.

Now, Caty, you met Lou Reed, right? You met him in the 80s?

I did. I met him in 1986. He played here in D.C. and my best friend and I went to the concert. We waited outside the stage door for him to come out and, hopefully,  give autographs. And I started talking with his tour manager while we were waiting. He offered tickets to the next two shows and backstage passes.

So, a few months later we went to see Reed play at Radio City Music Hall in New York…which was his town. He was a life-long New Yorker. The concert was amazing. It  was just like Reed’s song, “Perfect Day.”

So, we got to go to the after-party at Radio City Music Hall and talk with Lou Reed.

What was he like?

You know, he was just a nice guy. He had a reputation for being very private, very guarded. He certainly was not an easy interview for reporters. But to me, I was just  a 20 year-old fan, and he was great.

Why do you think Lou Reed was such a groundbreaker?

He influenced so many people in music. David Bowie, Pattie Smith, the Talking Heads, and so many punk bands. I think it was his songwriting that set him apart. The  songs seemed so honest and his lyrics so simple, but the subjects were often shocking.

And his lyrics were deceptively simple because each line could have many meanings. He also kept his distance as a vocalist. He sang in a dispassionate way, an  unemotional way. So it added to the mystery of the message.

You could never be sure if Reed was expressing pathos¹⁷ or parody¹⁸.

Lou Reed died on October 27th in New York, on Long Island. His is survived by his wife, musician Laurie Anderson.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 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。

7 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

12 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

13 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

14 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。

15 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

16 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

17 pathos   

n.哀婉，悲怆

参考例句：

• The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯，看得我们不禁流泪。
• There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。

18 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。