VOA标准英语2010年-2009 American Roots Music Grammy Nomin

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on January 31.  Once again, Roots performers are showing up in many different categories.

Bob Dylan's performance of "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" could earn the folk legend his second Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal¹ Performance. It's a tough category this year.  The other nominees² are John Fogerty, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. 
 Bob Dylan
 That's not the only honor Dylan's up for this year, however.  His CD, "Together Through Life", is one of the five albums vying³ for the very first Best Americana Album Grammy.  The other nominees for the first-ever Americana Album Grammy are: "Electric Dirt" by Levon Helm; "Wilco The Album," from Wilco; "Willie and the Wheel," Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel; and Lucinda William's "Little Honey."
   
This is the first time there has been a separate category for Americana music.  Previously⁴, it was included in Folk music. There are still two Folk categories: Best Traditional Folk album; and Best Contemporary Folk Album, which is where you'll find Neko Case nominated, along with Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, Elvis Costello and Steve Earle. Earle's nominated CD is "Townes," his tribute to singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt.

But as Bob Dylan's nomination⁵ shows, Roots musicians aren't just consigned⁶ to the Folk music or Americana categories this year.  Several Bluegrass and Americana performers are in the race for Best Country Instrumental Performance beside the Steve Wariner song "Producer's Medley⁷."  They are: The Greencards for "The Crystal Merchant"; "Mansineedof" from Sarah Jarosz; and Alison Brown's "Under The (Five) Wire" off her CD "The Company You Keep."

Alison Brown's banjo picking has been nominated in the Best Country Instrumental category, while Steve Martin's first-ever CD of banjo music could earn the comedian⁸ and film star his fourth Grammy.

"Daddy Played The Banjo" is sung by Tim O'Brien, and can be found on Steve Martin's CD "The Crow," which has been nominated for Best Bluegrass Album.  Also up for that award is:  Jim Lauderdale's "Could We Get Any Closer"; Michael Martin Murphy's "Buckaroo Blue Grass"; "Almost Live" from Bryan Sutton and Friends; and Rhonda Vincent's "Destination Life."
   
This year's Best Traditional Folk Grammy nominees aren't just five singer songwriter strumming their guitars.  With the demise⁹ of the Polka Grammy, longtime favorite Jimmy Sturr is now found in that category, alongside Maura O'Connell, the duo of David Holt and Josh Goforth, a Utah Phillips tribute CD, and Loudon Wainwright III. He is also nominated for a tribute recording¹⁰ called "High Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project."  Poole was a North Carolina banjo picker and singer who led a band called The North Carolina Ramblers.

In 1925, they recorded "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," and went on to sell more than 100,000 copies of the song at a time when there were only about 600,000 record players in the U.S.  That song is regarded as the first-ever country music hit, and Loudon Wainwright performs it under the title "The Deal" on his Grammy-nominated CD.  You'll find out if it takes home the trophy¹¹ when the Grammys are handed out in Los Angeles on January 31.

 

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 consigned   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
• The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

8 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

9 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。