Is the World Going Gaga for Lady Gaga? “嘉嘉女神”还是“雷帝嘎嘎”?
要介绍Lady Gaga,可真是件苦差。即使只是名字,也很难找到一个非常精确的翻译,因为对于她,人们的态度向来分明,一是认为她时尚前卫、歌舞了得,是个“女神”“女王”;另一则称其衣着、行为怪异,实属“雷帝”“雷母”。
不过,当搜集了越来越多的资料后,却发现其实许多人对Lady Gaga存在一定的误读。例如,认为她出身不好,以致衣着古怪随便;她音乐素质低,只能靠奇装异服吸引眼球。但其实,Lady Gaga出生于纽约富裕家庭,从小读的都是费用昂贵的贵族学校,而且,她天资过人,4岁无师自通学会钢琴,13岁开始作曲和演出,17岁被纽约大学音乐系提前录取,20岁便签约为Britney Spears等红星写歌。
一边打扮前卫,演出大胆,一边又横扫MTV等各大颁奖典礼,Lady Gaga的出现似乎就是要让这个乐坛不得安宁。有人预言她将是麦当娜的接班人,也有人认为她不过是昙花一现。到底我们该用偶像还是“呕”像来解读这位新星?或者,这位叛逆“舞后”要的就是我们的这种不知所措。
Costumes under Discussion现代“雷母”?
Hostess: Lady Gaga, of course, is known for these crazy 1) outfits. I think a couple weeks ago we were talking about how she showed up with a [an] 2) oxygen mask on her face. Take a look at this “bad boy.” Is it a 3) shawl? Is it a dress? What is going on there? It is 4) Kermit the Frog…stapled all over it. You have to give it to her, though. She knows how to make headlines…
Host: Yeah.
Hostess:…and I’m sure people are looking’ at this wondering what the heck’s goin’ on.
Host: At least she didn’t cover her poker face. I…I like her! I think she’s funny.
Hostess: She is funny. Yeah.
Host: She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s got a good sense of humor, and who else do you know dresses up like Kermit the Frog? We should try it one night.
Hostess: Maybe for my Christ ...my Halloween costume.
Host: Just don’t cover your po-po-ker face, yo-yo-po-ker face.
女主持:Lady Gaga,当然啦,就是因这些奇装异服而广为人知的。我想几周前我们还在谈论她怎么脸上戴着个氧气罩上街呢。看看这副“坏小子”形象。那是件披肩么?是件上衣?那是怎么回事。那是青蛙柯密特爬得满身都是了。但你不得不服了她。她懂得如何上头条……
男主持:对。
女主持:……我相信大家看到这状况一定想知道到底是在搞什么鬼。
男主持:至少她不会掩饰自己的扑克脸。我……我喜欢她!我觉得她很有趣。
女主持:她有趣。对。
男主持:她没太在意她自己。她很有幽默感,而且你认识的人中谁还会穿成个青蛙柯密特那样呢?我们应该找个晚上试一试。
女主持:或者作为我的圣……我的万圣节服装。
男主持:就是别掩饰你的扑—扑—克脸,你—你的扑—克脸。
Recipe for Musical Success 音乐女王!
5)Infectious melodies, the biggest debut album of the year and hit singles including one of the best-selling digital songs of all time,…the 23 year-old New Yorker has risen to global fame in barely a year, her “eccentric” outfits defining an image.
Interviewer: You’ve achieved a massive amount of fame in a short period of time, so how has it all been for you?
Gaga: It’s been life-changing, but very exciting for my music, and as a song-writer it’s been a long time coming. I spent two and a half years writing my album, and it’s my greatest hits.
Interviewer: “Just Dance,” “Poker-face”—huge hits; what do you think is the reason why they’ve become so big?
Gaga: I guess I seem to have 6) struck a nerve. I think that my music as well as my performance art offers a sense of 7) escapism. And I think that, especially in America—I can’t speak for the rest of the world—but especially in America, there was a real need for someone to tell a story.
Interviewer: You’re also a song-writer, you write your own stuff, so how does that creative process take place?
Gaga: In all sorts of ways. Inspiration comes to me all day long every day, sometimes, when I’m falling asleep, I have these visions. But it’s not just music—it’s music, it’s the clothing, it’s the stage performance.
Interviewer: Do you think pop music at all has gotten too commercial?
Gaga: Not if I’m around.
Interviewer: Have there been any downsides to fame?
Gaga: No. There are no downsides. I, for myself, am surrounded by very creative and wonderful people, and I’ve always been taught, and it’s funny, because 8) Grace Jones said this to me when I met her—I washed her feet—and I looked up at her, and she said, “No matter what you do in your life, don’t you ever let anybody take your creative people away from you.” And what my creative friends always remind me of is…they say, “Only value the opinion of those that you respect, and anyone that you don’t respect, pay no mind to their opinion about you or anything else.” And that’s how I live my life. If I worried about everything that everyone said, I would not be a good artist. But when somebody that I respect sends me a message via someone I work with and says, “Tell Gaga I loved this. Maybe she should try this,” then I listen.
充满感染力的旋律,年度最优秀的处女大碟,多首大热单曲,其中一首还是当今销量最高的数码歌之一……这位23岁的纽约人在短短一年便名噪全球,其“古怪”衣着为其树立起独特的形象。
记者:你在短短的时间内便获得了相当高的知名度,那这一切对你来说意味着什么呢?
Gaga:意味着翻天覆地的改变,但对我的音乐来说非常让人振奋。作为一个作曲人,这经历了漫长的等待。我花了两年半来写自己的唱片,里面收录的都是我最好的热门歌曲。
记者:《只管跳》和《扑克脸》都是超级热门歌,你觉得为什么它们会这么受欢迎呢?
Gaga:我想是我可能唱出了大家的心声。我认为我的音乐以及我的表演展示了一种逃离现实的感觉。我认为,特别是在美国——我可不能替世界上别的地方的人说话——但是,特别是在美国,特别需要有人代述心声。
记者:你也是个作曲人,你写自己喜欢的曲子,这个创造性的过程是怎么产生的呢?
Gaga:以各种各样的方式产生。每天,灵感整天都会浮现,有时候,当我正要入睡时,我就有这些幻像。但那不止是音乐。有音乐,有服装,还有舞台表演。
记者:你觉得流行音乐已经变得太商业化了吗?
Gaga:我在就不会。
记者:名声给你带来什么负面影响了吗?
Gaga:没有。没有负面影响,对我自己而言,我身边有许多极有创意、非常了不起的人,而且我一直受到别人启迪,很有趣,因为格蕾斯·琼斯在我碰到她的时候跟我说——那时我给她洗脚,我抬头看着她,她说:“在你的人生中,无论做什么,都绝不要让别人把你身边富创意的人抢走。”而我那些极富创意的朋友总是提醒我说:“只要重视那些你尊敬的人的意见就好了,而那些你不尊敬的人,不要理会他们对你或者对其他事情的意见。”那就是我生活的方式。要是我在意每个人说的话,我就不会成为出色的艺人。但是要是那些我尊敬的人通过我的工作伙伴给我传话说:“告诉Gaga我喜爱这个。或者她应该试试这个。”那我就会听。
Speech on Gay Rights 自由女神!
I have seen and witnessed so many things over the past two years, and I can say with such certainty that this is the single most important moment of my career. I am humbled to stand before all of you here today. I know that some of you have been fighting and doing 9)advocacy work that stems all the way back to the 10)Stonewall riots, and I salute you.
I am also inspired by the masses of all the young people here today. The younger generation—my generation—we are the ones coming up in the world, and we must continue to push this movement forward and close the gap. We must demand full equality for all. They say that this country is free and they say that this country is equal, but it is not equal if it’s “sometimes.” Obama, I know that you’re listening.
Are you listening?!
We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality. We need change now. We demand actions now.
在过去的两年多,我已经亲眼见证了很多事情,而我可以非常肯定地说这是我职业生涯中最为重要的一个时刻。今天站在大家面前,我深感谦卑。我知道你们其中一些人一直努力争取,做着从“石墙酒吧骚乱”时候就开始的倡导工作。我向你们致敬。
今天我也从这里所有为数众多的年轻人中得到灵感。年轻一代——我的一代——我们正是走进世界舞台的人,我们必须继续推动这项运动,消除隔膜。我们必须为所有人争取平等。他们说美国是个自由国家,他们说美国是个平等的国家,但如果它指的只是“有时候”,那它并不是真正的平等。奥巴马,我知道你有在听。
你有在听吗?!
我们会继续敦促你和你的政府将你的承诺变成现实。我们现在就需要改变。我们现在就需要行动。