VOA标准英语2012--Singer Puts American Twist on Cambodian Classics

Singer Puts American Twist on Cambodian Classics

 Singer songwriter Bochun Huy is putting an American twist on a Cambodian classic. The original song, “I Am 16,” comes from the heyday¹ of Cambodian rock-the 1960s and 1970s, before the Khmer Rouge². 

Huy’s version, though, is something entirely³ new.

“I kind of describe ‘Chnam Oun Dop Pram⁴ Mouy’ as sort of like a new culture. It’s a melting pot of everything that I’ve absorbed: from living in Oakland, from being Cambodian, and from being American. It’s Cambodian-American,” said Huy.

The song comes from her first album, Full Monday Moon, which she has just completed. Huy says she wrote the album after the death of her father, a refugee and a musician who loved the classics.

“I decided⁵ to do the album because I realized after he passed away - he was a big musical mentor⁶ in my whole life - that the only way that I felt that he was still around was to do music," Huy added. "That was something the Khmer Rouge did not take away from him. He was able to bring that from Cambodia to here.”

Huy produced the album under an independent label in a New York studio. It is a departure from much of Cambodia’s own music scene, which favors cover versions of the classics and little experimentation⁷. 

“I think it’s because so many Cambodians have held on to that generation, you know. That’s when things were good. It was before the Khmer Rouge war," Huy explained. "And so it’s going to be a challenge to kind of get people to let go of that and go, ‘OK, you know I think we’re ready to move on.’ I think people are ready, they are ready, and that’s why I hope people will give ‘Full Monday Moon’ a try, you know. Yeah, the whole album’s not in Cambodian, but some is, you know, and I sing of struggles related to being Cambodian. And who’s to say nowadays what is Cambodian and what isn’t. I mean, we’ve all landed in all parts of the world, and I think what Cambodian is is that we’ve landed in all parts of the world, we’ve been able to kind of adapt, adjust and re-create, and we’re forming something new for ourselves. And that’s to me what it means to be Cambodian.”

Huy is now in Cambodia for the first time since 1999, to promote the album. And find new inspiration. It’s the end of one journey, and perhaps the beginning of another. 

1 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

2 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 pram   

n.婴儿车，童车

参考例句：

• She sat the baby up in the pram. 她把孩子放在婴儿车里坐着。
• She ran in chase of the pram. 她跑着追那婴儿车。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

7 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。