- Published on
流行音乐天后都发专辑而非单曲(Pop stars are all about albums)
- Authors
比莉·艾利什不是唯一一个强调专辑而非组成专辑的歌曲的热门音乐创作者。
双语精读
Pop stars are all about albums
流行音乐歌星都是发专辑的
Contradictory though it may seem in the streaming era.
虽然这在流媒体时代可能看起来有些矛盾。
To Billie Eilish, things like cassettes and CDs probably seem charmingly retro. Born in 2001, the musician was six years old when Spotify launched; today she is the fourth-most popular artist on the platform.
对比莉·艾利什来说，磁带和CD之类的东西可能有一种迷人的复古魅力。这位音乐人出生于2001年，Spotify推出时她才六岁，如今她已是该平台上受欢迎度第四的音乐人。
Ms Eilish has only ever known 21st-century listening habits. And yet she has emerged as an unlikely champion of a time-worn format: the album.
艾利什只了解21世纪的听歌习惯。然而，她却出人意料地成为了一种过时形式——专辑——的倡导者。
She declared that her new record, "Hit Me Hard and Soft", released in May, was a "cohesive" piece of work, "ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end". No singles were released in advance as amuse-bouches for famished fans.
她宣称，她于5月发行的新唱片《温柔重击》是一部“连贯”的作品，“最好是从头到尾完整地听完”。没有单曲作为开胃小菜提前发布给饥饿的粉丝。
She is not the only hitmaker emphasising the album rather than its component parts. Dua Lipa's debut album in 2017 was preceded by six singles; she scaled back for her latest record. And Taylor Swift has issued four successive sets of new material with no advance singles.
她不是唯一一个强调专辑而非组成专辑的歌曲的热门音乐创作者。杜阿·利帕在2017年发行首张专辑之前推出了六首单曲，发布最新的唱片之前她缩减了单曲数量。而泰勒·斯威夫特已经连续发行了四张新专辑，之前都没有推出单曲。
For decades after the birth of recorded music in the 1920s, the single was the only thing that mattered, mostly because it was the only thing there was: early gramophone records could hold just a few minutes of music on each side.
自20世纪20年代录制音乐诞生后的几十年里，单曲是唯一重要的东西，主要是因为当时只有单曲：早期的留声机唱片每面只能容纳几分钟的音乐。
As technology improved, playing times increased, and groups such as the Beatles came to see LPs ("long play") as statements of ambition. From the mid-1960s onwards, albums became something to be appreciated as complete works of art.
随着技术的改进，播放时间延长，披头士等乐队开始将LP（“长时间播放唱片”）视为宣称雄心的一种方式。从20世纪60年代中期开始，专辑成为了一种可以被作为完整艺术作品而欣赏的东西。
In 1988 Prince released his "Lovesexy" album on CD as one continuous track, with the explicit goal of making it impossible to cherry-pick songs.
1988年，王子以CD形式发行了他的专辑《爱与性感》，CD中只有一个连续的音轨，目的非常清晰，就是让人们无法挑着听歌。
No doubt Ms Eilish and co want to prove their serious musical chops. Pop music is still often regarded as ephemeral, because it relies on catchy tracks that can dominate airwaves and charts.
毫无疑问，艾利什等人想要证明她们的音乐是严肃高级的。因为流行音乐依赖洗脑的旋律才能在广播和榜单上占据首位，所以这种音乐仍然常常被视为是不能长久流传的。
Singles account for around 65% of a hit rock album's total "consumption" (including streaming as well as physical purchases). For a pop album that figure rises to 85%.
单曲约占热门摇滚专辑总“消费量”（包括流媒体和实体专辑购买）的65%。对于流行音乐专辑来说，这一数字上升到了85%。
This crop of pop stars has discovered that a deluge can be better than a drip-feed. Stars can encourage fans to buy their record on vinyl and stream the album, too. As a result, "The artist and their label partner earn twice," says Chris Cooke of CMU, a music-industry website.
这批流行歌星已经发现，集中推出一批歌曲可能比涓涓细流地推出单曲更好。歌星可以鼓励粉丝购买她们的黑胶唱片，同时也可以在流媒体上发行专辑。结果就是，音乐行业网站CMU的克里斯·库克表示：“歌手及其合作的唱片公司能赚两次钱。”
And, by releasing the songs all at once, artists enjoy the kind of chart dominance that sporadic singles do not provide. Ms Eilish currently has three tracks in the Billboard top 20. After the release of "The Tortured Poets Department", Ms Swift claimed the top 14 spots.
而且，通过一次性发布所有歌曲，音乐人们享受了那种零散的单曲所不能提供的排行榜统治地位。艾利什目前有三首歌曲进入了公告牌榜单前20名。在《苦难诗社》专辑发行后，斯威夫特占据了前14名。
Singles are still useful for pop's aspiring princesses, but not the queens.
对于流行乐坛渴望成功的公主们来说，单曲仍然有用，但对于流行天后们来说就不是了。
词汇预习
release [高考]
美[rɪˈliːs] | 英[rɪˈliːs]
n. 释放；让渡；发行 vt. 释放；让与；准予发表；发射
consumption [高考]
美[kənˈsʌmpʃn] | 英[kənˈsʌmpʃn]
n. 消费；消耗；肺痨
unlikely [高考]
美[ʌnˈlaɪkli] | 英[ʌnˈlaɪkli]
adj. 不太可能的
currently [高考]
美[ˈkɜːrəntli] | 英[ˈkʌrəntli]
adv. 现在；通常；当前
cherry [高考]
美[ˈtʃeri] | 英[ˈtʃeri]
n. 樱桃；樱桃树；樱桃色；[俚]处女膜
continuous [高考]
美[kənˈtɪnjuəs] | 英[kənˈtɪnjuəs]
adj. 连续的；继续的；连绵不断的
dominate [高考]
美[ˈdɑːmɪneɪt] | 英[ˈdɒmɪneɪt]
v. 支配；控制；统治；占优势；俯视；高耸于
figure [高考]
美[ˈfɪɡjər] | 英[ˈfɪɡə(r)]
n. 图形；人物；身材；体形 v. 认为；是重要部分；是…的部分；计算（数量或成本）
advance [高考]
美[ədˈvæns] | 英[ədˈvɑːns]
n. 前进；进展；预付金 v. 前进；预付；增长；推进 adj. 预先的；提前的
amuse [高考]
美[əˈmjuːz] | 英[əˈmjuːz]
v. 娱乐；消遣；使 ... 发笑
CD [高考]
美[ˌsi'di] | 英[ˌsi: ˈdi:]
abbr. 激光唱片(=compact disc)
component [高考]
美[kəmˈpoʊnənt] | 英[kəmˈpəʊnənt]
n. 零部件；元件；组成部分；成分 adj. 组成的；构成的
platform [高考]
美[ˈplætfɔːrm] | 英[ˈplætfɔːm]
n. 平台，站台，月台，讲台，(政党的)政纲 v. 把…放在台上；起草政纲；站在讲台上演说
ambition [高考]
美[æmˈbɪʃn] | 英[æmˈbɪʃn]
n. 雄心；抱负；野心；精力 vt. 追求；有 ... 野心
explicit [高考]
美[ɪkˈsplɪsɪt] | 英[ɪkˈsplɪsɪt]
adj. 明确的；清晰的；清楚的；露骨的
format [高考]
美[ˈfɔːrmæt] | 英[ˈfɔːmæt]
n. 版式；设计 vt. 使格式化；安排
in advance [高考]
美[ɪn ədˈvæns] | 英[ɪn ədˈvɑːns]
提前；预先
account for [高考]
美[əˈkaʊnt fɔːr] | 英[əˈkaʊnt fɔː(r)]
vt. (在数量方面)占；说明(原因等)； 对 ... 负责；导致，引起；击毙，杀死；报账
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
catchy [高考]
美[ˈkætʃi] | 英[ˈkætʃi]
adj. 引人注目的；（曲调等）易记住的，朗朗上口的；诡诈的；易使人上当的；不连贯的
worn [高考]
美[wɔːrn] | 英[wɔːn]
adj. 用旧的；穿坏的；精疲力竭的；憔悴的
successive [四级]
美[səkˈsesɪv] | 英[səkˈsesɪv]
adj. 连续的；接连的；接二连三的
drip [四级]
美[drɪp] | 英[drɪp]
n. 滴；点滴；乏味的人 v. 滴下；漏出
ideally [四级]
美[aɪˈdiəli] | 英[aɪ'di:əlɪ]
adv. 理想地；完美地；观念上地
mid [四级]
美[mɪd] | 英[mɪd]
adj. 中间的； [语]央元音的 prep. 在 ... 的中间 abbr. 移动互联网设备 (=Mobile Internet Device)
all at once [四级]
美[ɔːl æt wʌns] | 英[ɔːl æt wʌns]
同时； 一起； 突然； 忽然
dominance [四级]
美[ˈdɑmənəns] | 英['dɒmɪnəns]
n. 支配；控制；统治；优势；【生】优势度，显性
gramophone [六级]
美[ˈɡræməfoʊn] | 英[ˈɡræməfəʊn]
n. 留声机；唱机
kind of [六级]
美[kaɪnd ʌv] | 英[kaind ɔv]
adv. 有点儿
entirety [专八]
美[ɛnˈtaɪrɪti, -ˈtaɪrti] | 英[ɪnˈtaɪərəti]
n. 全部
works [专八]
美[wəks] | 英[wə:ks]
n. 工厂；修建；机器部件；全套物品
deluge [专八]
美[ˈdɛljudʒ] | 英[ˈdelju:dʒ]
n. 大洪水；暴雨；泛滥 v. 泛滥；大量涌入
sporadic [专八]
美[spəˈrædɪk] | 英[spəˈrædɪk]
adj. 不定时发生的；零星的
ephemeral [专八]
美[ɪˈfɛmərəl] | 英[ɪˈfemərəl]
adj. 短暂的；朝生暮死的 n. 生存极短时间的事物
cohesive [专八]
美[koʊˈhiːsɪv] | 英[kəʊˈhiːsɪv]
adj. 粘性的；有结合性的；有粘聚性的
debut [专八]
美[deɪˈbjuː] | 英[ˈdeɪbjuː]
n. 首次露面；初次登场 v. 初次登场；首次推出
new material [雅思]
美[nu məˈtɪriəl] | 英[nju: məˈtiəriəl]
新材料
onwards [雅思]
美[ˈɑːnwərdz] | 英[ˈɒnwədz]
adv. 向前；前进；在前面
重点讲解
Pop stars are all about albums
流行音乐歌星都是发专辑的
launch v. 首次投放市场；首次发行
【例】to launch new iPads 发布新款平板电脑
to launch a new journal 发行新的期刊
【近义词】release v. 发布；公布
Contradictory though it may seem in the streaming era.
虽然这在流媒体时代可能看起来有些矛盾。
launch v. 首次投放市场；首次发行
【例】to launch new iPads 发布新款平板电脑
to launch a new journal 发行新的期刊
【近义词】release v. 发布；公布
To Billie Eilish, things like cassettes and CDs probably seem charmingly retro. Born in 2001, the musician was six years old when Spotify launched; today she is the fourth-most popular artist on the platform.
对比莉·艾利什来说，磁带和CD之类的东西可能有一种迷人的复古魅力。这位音乐人出生于2001年，Spotify推出时她才六岁，如今她已是该平台上受欢迎度第四的音乐人。
launch v. 首次投放市场；首次发行
【例】to launch new iPads 发布新款平板电脑
to launch a new journal 发行新的期刊
【近义词】release v. 发布；公布
Ms Eilish has only ever known 21st-century listening habits. And yet she has emerged as an unlikely champion of a time-worn format: the album.
艾利什只了解21世纪的听歌习惯。然而，她却出人意料地成为了一种过时形式——专辑——的倡导者。
champion n. & v.
1. 作名词：捍卫者；拥护者
【例】a champion of reforms 提倡改革者
【近义词】advocate n. 拥护者；提倡者
2. 作动词：捍卫；为……而斗争
【例】to champion women’s rights to education
捍卫女性接受教育的权利
【近义词】advocate/uphold/defend v. 提倡；捍卫
cohesive adj. 团结的；成为一个整体的
【例】For a paragraph to be effective, it needs to be cohesive and flow smoothly.
要让段落达意，段落需要连贯、流畅。
a cohesive team 一个有凝聚力的团队
【近义词】coherent adj. 逻辑一致；条理清楚
【例】a coherent body of work on how to be happy
逻辑完整的关于如何获得幸福的作品
in advance 提前
【例】a week in advance 提前一个星期
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
提前感谢您的配合。
【近义词】ahead/beforehand adv. 提前；预先
She declared that her new record, "Hit Me Hard and Soft", released in May, was a "cohesive" piece of work, "ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end". No singles were released in advance as amuse-bouches for famished fans.
她宣称，她于5月发行的新唱片《温柔重击》是一部“连贯”的作品，“最好是从头到尾完整地听完”。没有单曲作为开胃小菜提前发布给饥饿的粉丝。
champion n. & v.
1. 作名词：捍卫者；拥护者
【例】a champion of reforms 提倡改革者
【近义词】advocate n. 拥护者；提倡者
2. 作动词：捍卫；为……而斗争
【例】to champion women’s rights to education
捍卫女性接受教育的权利
【近义词】advocate/uphold/defend v. 提倡；捍卫
cohesive adj. 团结的；成为一个整体的
【例】For a paragraph to be effective, it needs to be cohesive and flow smoothly.
要让段落达意，段落需要连贯、流畅。
a cohesive team 一个有凝聚力的团队
【近义词】coherent adj. 逻辑一致；条理清楚
【例】a coherent body of work on how to be happy
逻辑完整的关于如何获得幸福的作品
in advance 提前
【例】a week in advance 提前一个星期
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
提前感谢您的配合。
【近义词】ahead/beforehand adv. 提前；预先
She is not the only hitmaker emphasising the album rather than its component parts. Dua Lipa's debut album in 2017 was preceded by six singles; she scaled back for her latest record. And Taylor Swift has issued four successive sets of new material with no advance singles.
她不是唯一一个强调专辑而非组成专辑的歌曲的热门音乐创作者。杜阿·利帕在2017年发行首张专辑之前推出了六首单曲，发布最新的唱片之前她缩减了单曲数量。而泰勒·斯威夫特已经连续发行了四张新专辑，之前都没有推出单曲。
precede v. 在……之前；先于
【例】The table of contents precedes the introduction.
目录表在引言之前。
You can precede your speech with an amusing story.
你可以在演讲开始之前讲一个有趣的故事。
【拓展】precedent n. 先例；前例
unprecedented adj. 史无前例的
【反义词】follow/succeed v. 在……之后
For decades after the birth of recorded music in the 1920s, the single was the only thing that mattered, mostly because it was the only thing there was: early gramophone records could hold just a few minutes of music on each side.
自20世纪20年代录制音乐诞生后的几十年里，单曲是唯一重要的东西，主要是因为当时只有单曲：早期的留声机唱片每面只能容纳几分钟的音乐。
hold v. 容纳；包含
【例】This suitcase will hold all my clothes.
这个行李箱装得下我所有的衣服。
【近义词】accommodate v. 容纳
contain v. 含有；容纳
house v. 某地有……
fit v. 可以装进
As technology improved, playing times increased, and groups such as the Beatles came to see LPs ("long play") as statements of ambition. From the mid-1960s onwards, albums became something to be appreciated as complete works of art.
随着技术的改进，播放时间延长，披头士等乐队开始将LP（“长时间播放唱片”）视为宣称雄心的一种方式。从20世纪60年代中期开始，专辑成为了一种可以被作为完整艺术作品而欣赏的东西。
hold v. 容纳；包含
【例】This suitcase will hold all my clothes.
这个行李箱装得下我所有的衣服。
【近义词】accommodate v. 容纳
contain v. 含有；容纳
house v. 某地有……
fit v. 可以装进
In 1988 Prince released his "Lovesexy" album on CD as one continuous track, with the explicit goal of making it impossible to cherry-pick songs.
1988年，王子以CD形式发行了他的专辑《爱与性感》，CD中只有一个连续的音轨，目的非常清晰，就是让人们无法挑着听歌。
cherry-pick v. 精心挑选；只挑最好的
【例】It is common that high schools cherry-pick the best students.
高中“掐尖儿”的做法很常见。
【近义词】pick the plums out of the pudding
把布丁上的葡萄干挑出来；把好东西挑出来留给自己
ephemeral adj. 短暂的；瞬息的
【例】Fashion trends are often ephemeral, changing with the seasons.
时尚潮流是短暂的，会根据季节而改变。
【近义词】short-lived/transient adj. 短暂的；转瞬即逝的
【反义词】lasting/enduring adj. 长久的；持久的
【辨析】periphery n. 边缘；外围
peripheral adj. 边缘的
epiphany n. 灵光一现；顿悟
No doubt Ms Eilish and co want to prove their serious musical chops. Pop music is still often regarded as ephemeral, because it relies on catchy tracks that can dominate airwaves and charts.
毫无疑问，艾利什等人想要证明她们的音乐是严肃高级的。因为流行音乐依赖洗脑的旋律才能在广播和榜单上占据首位，所以这种音乐仍然常常被视为是不能长久流传的。
cherry-pick v. 精心挑选；只挑最好的
【例】It is common that high schools cherry-pick the best students.
高中“掐尖儿”的做法很常见。
【近义词】pick the plums out of the pudding
把布丁上的葡萄干挑出来；把好东西挑出来留给自己
ephemeral adj. 短暂的；瞬息的
【例】Fashion trends are often ephemeral, changing with the seasons.
时尚潮流是短暂的，会根据季节而改变。
【近义词】short-lived/transient adj. 短暂的；转瞬即逝的
【反义词】lasting/enduring adj. 长久的；持久的
【辨析】periphery n. 边缘；外围
peripheral adj. 边缘的
epiphany n. 灵光一现；顿悟
Singles account for around 65% of a hit rock album's total "consumption" (including streaming as well as physical purchases). For a pop album that figure rises to 85%.
单曲约占热门摇滚专辑总“消费量”（包括流媒体和实体专辑购买）的65%。对于流行音乐专辑来说，这一数字上升到了85%。
crop n. & v.
1. 作名词：庄稼；一批人
【例】a crop of new graduates 新一批大学毕业生
2. 作动词：出现
【例】Some problems cropped up when the boss was away.
老板不在的时候出现了一些问题。
deluge n. 暴雨；洪水；涌现的事物
【例】The town was unprepared for the deluge.
小镇面对洪水措手不及。
a deluge of fan letters
雪花般飞来的粉丝信件
【近义词】flood n. 洪水
This crop of pop stars has discovered that a deluge can be better than a drip-feed. Stars can encourage fans to buy their record on vinyl and stream the album, too. As a result, "The artist and their label partner earn twice," says Chris Cooke of CMU, a music-industry website.
这批流行歌星已经发现，集中推出一批歌曲可能比涓涓细流地推出单曲更好。歌星可以鼓励粉丝购买她们的黑胶唱片，同时也可以在流媒体上发行专辑。结果就是，音乐行业网站CMU的克里斯·库克表示：“歌手及其合作的唱片公司能赚两次钱。”
crop n. & v.
1. 作名词：庄稼；一批人
【例】a crop of new graduates 新一批大学毕业生
2. 作动词：出现
【例】Some problems cropped up when the boss was away.
老板不在的时候出现了一些问题。
deluge n. 暴雨；洪水；涌现的事物
【例】The town was unprepared for the deluge.
小镇面对洪水措手不及。
a deluge of fan letters
雪花般飞来的粉丝信件
【近义词】flood n. 洪水
And, by releasing the songs all at once, artists enjoy the kind of chart dominance that sporadic singles do not provide. Ms Eilish currently has three tracks in the Billboard top 20. After the release of "The Tortured Poets Department", Ms Swift claimed the top 14 spots.
而且，通过一次性发布所有歌曲，音乐人们享受了那种零散的单曲所不能提供的排行榜统治地位。艾利什目前有三首歌曲进入了公告牌榜单前20名。在《苦难诗社》专辑发行后，斯威夫特占据了前14名。
sporadic adj. 偶尔的；断断续续的
【例】Sporadic rain showers are expected throughout the week.
预计本周将时有阵雨。
【近义词】intermittent adj. 断断续续的；间歇的
aspiring adj. 渴望成功的
【例】Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day.
想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
【拓展】aspire v. 渴望成为；有志成为
Singles are still useful for pop's aspiring princesses, but not the queens.
对于流行乐坛渴望成功的公主们来说，单曲仍然有用，但对于流行天后们来说就不是了。
sporadic adj. 偶尔的；断断续续的
【例】Sporadic rain showers are expected throughout the week.
预计本周将时有阵雨。
【近义词】intermittent adj. 断断续续的；间歇的
aspiring adj. 渴望成功的
【例】Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day.
想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
【拓展】aspire v. 渴望成为；有志成为
课后练习
What does Billie Eilish think about the format of the album?
A. She views albums as a complete work.
B. She believes that albums are outdated.
C. She thinks releasing singles can promote an album.
D. She prefers cassettes to albums for their retro charm.
Why was the single of primary importance in the 1920s?
A. Because albums were not considered to be artistic work at that time.
B. Because the Beatles had not yet influenced the music industry with their LPs.
C. Because early gramophone records could only contain a few minutes of music.
D. Because Prince had popularized the concept of the single with his "Lovesexy" album.
What strategy do pop stars use to maximize their earnings from an album?
A. They focus solely on releasing singles to dominate airwaves and charts.
B. They release albums exclusively on vinyl to target serious music collectors.
C. They rely on the ephemeral nature of pop music to boost physical purchases.
D. They encourage fans to purchase both physical copies and stream their albums.
What benefit do artists gain by releasing all their songs simultaneously?
A. They can focus more on producing quality music rather than marketing.
B. It allows them to enjoy sustained chart dominance over a longer period.
C. They can attract greater attention and quickly become pop music queens.
D. It gives them a better chance to claim multiple top positions in music charts.