迈克尔·杰克逊制作人昆西·琼斯 | 经济学人讣告

财富   2024-11-15 09:35   美国  

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Obituary | The Prince of Bel-Air

讣告 | 贝莱尔王子

英文部分选自经济学人20241109期讣告板块

Obituary | The Prince of Bel-Air

讣告 | 贝莱尔王子

Quincy Jones ruled popular music for half a century

昆西·琼斯统治了流行乐半世纪

The producer, arranger and film-score writer died on November 3rd, aged 91

这位制作人、编曲家及电影配乐大师于113日去世,享年91

注:此处The Prince of Bel-Air指代Quincy Jones的代表作Fresh Prince of Bel-Air(美国情景喜剧《新鲜王子妙事多》)

Among the other thousand things that kept him busy and curious without end, Quincy Jones loved to cook. His gumbo was so good, it would make you slap your grandmother. He made the world’s best lemon meringue pie by putting lime in the meringue. And lemons themselves were his favourite ingredient, time after time. Forget onions, hot sauce, garlic. A squeeze of lemon knocked out everything else, like a piccolo in a symphony orchestra. In fact, he didn’t cook so much as orchestrate.

昆西·琼斯(Quincy Jones)爱好广泛,对很多事物都很好奇,烹饪就是其中之一。他做的秋葵汤(用秋葵荚做的浓鸡汤或海味汤)简直好吃到飞起。他在蛋白酥中加入青柠,做出来的柠檬蛋白酥天下一绝。一直以来,柠檬都是他最钟爱的配料,洋葱、辣酱、大蒜都不值一提。只需挤一点柠檬汁,所有的味道都能激发出来,就好像在交响乐团中加入短笛。其实,与其说他在烹饪,不如说他在编排交响乐。

注:slap your grandmotherA phrase that means that something is so good that you're awestruck by it to the point where you're so disoriented that you might mistakenly slap your grandmother

And perhaps he didn’t orchestrate so much as cook. He would try any musical style, jazz or bebop, soul or R&B, rock or funk, and mix them up without fear. Anything he could feel, he could notate. He would get his basic ingredient, a great song, and spike it with something, like the Hammond organ he worked into his version of “Summer in the City”, the menacing drum intro to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, or the anguished major-minor chord shifts in Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”. That was his first recording to top the American charts, in 1963. After that he was the go-to arranger and producer for some of the baddest cats in the world.

又或者,与其说他在编排交响乐,不如说是在烹饪。无论是爵士还是比波普、灵魂乐还是节奏布鲁斯、摇滚或者放克,他都乐于尝试,只要是他有感觉的东西,他都敢大胆混合。在已有的基础原料上,也就是一首好歌,再融入其他元素,比如他在《夏日都市》 (Summer in the City)的改编中加入了哈蒙德电风琴,在迈克尔·杰克逊 (Michael Jackson)的《Billie Jean》中用不断逼近的鼓点作为开头,他还在莱斯利·戈尔 (Lesley Gore)的《It’s My Party》中加入大小和弦转换,表达内心的苦痛。1963年,正是凭借这首《It’s My Party》,昆西·琼斯(Quincy Jones)制作的音乐首次登顶美国流行音乐排行榜。从那以后,他成为世界顶级音乐人的首选编曲和制作人。

He won 28 Grammys, the third-best total. His biggest achievement was to produce the “Off the Wall”, “Thriller” and “Bad” albums for Michael Jackson; “Thriller” became and remains the biggest-selling album of all time. His own favourite high-point came when, in 1985, he herded 46 of America’s biggest voices into one studio and, in one night, recorded “We Are the World” to raise money for famine relief. There they all sang, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, etc, etc. Michael spiked the mix with his falsetto, and he conducted.He had told them to check their egos at the door, and most had.

他一生之中共获得了28次格莱美奖,获奖总数排名第三。他的最大成就是为迈克尔·杰克逊制作了《墙外》(Off the Wall)、《战栗》 (Thriller)和《真棒》(Bad)三张专辑;其中《战栗》成为有史以来最畅销的专辑。1985年迎来了琼斯最喜欢的高光时刻,这一年,他聚集了46位美国重量级歌手,用一晚上的时间在录音室录制了《天下一家》 (We Are The World),为非洲饥荒筹集善款。布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀 (Bruce Springsteen)、鲍勃·迪伦 (Bob Dylan)、史蒂夫·旺德 (Stevie Wonder)、蒂娜·特纳 (Tina Turner)、黛安娜·罗斯 (Diana Ross)等大咖都倾情献唱,迈克尔(Michael)的假声点缀其中,昆西负责制作。昆西·琼斯事先告诉大家放下架子,大多数人也都照做了。

That was another thing he was great at mixing: people. He got on with almost everyone he met, giving the regulars nicknames (his was “Q”). Both the Clintons and the Obamas were friends, as was Oprah. So were Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. So was Buzz Aldrin, who carried Q’s recording of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” to the real Moon. Bono took him to see Pope John Paul II, and in Paris he met Picasso. But his real greats were the musicians he worked with. Lionel Hampton (“Hamp”), who recruited him at 19 for his big band; Count Basie (“Splank”), who hired him to compose and arrange for his band; and Michael Jackson (“Smelly”, his weird baby-word for funk). For Michael he would drop keys a minor third to extend his range. He would also put up with his boa constrictor (“Muscles”) wrapping around his leg. Closest of all was Sinatra (“Frank”). That dear motherfucker who either loved you with his whole heart or else rolled you over like a Mack truck in reverse. With Frank and Ray Charles (“69”) he partied his ass off, seven double Jack Daniel’s an hour. On one pinkie he wore Frank’s ring, with his family crest from Sicily.

昆西还擅长调和另一样东西——人际关系。他几乎和遇到的所有人都相处得好,还给熟人取了绰号(他自己的绰号是“Q”)。克林顿夫妇、奥巴马夫妇、奥普拉(Oprah)都是他的朋友。埃隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)和马克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)也都与他交好。巴兹·奥尔德林(Buzz Aldrin)(注:阿波罗11号的宇航员)还把他为弗兰克·辛纳特拉(Frank Sinatra)制作的唱片《带我飞向月球》(Fly Me to the Moon)带上了真正的月球。波诺(Bono(注:U2乐队主唱)带他面见了教皇约翰·保罗二世(Pope John Paul II),他还在巴黎见了毕加索。但是,对他而言真正重要的是那些他合作过的音乐家们。莱昂内尔·汉普顿(Lionel Hampton)(绰号“Hamp”)把19岁的他招揽进自己的大型乐队;凯伯·巴斯(Count Basie)(绰号“Splank”)请他为自己的乐队作曲、编曲;还有迈克尔·杰克逊(绰号“Smelly”, 他用这种古怪的婴儿用语称呼放克音乐)。为了帮助迈克尔扩展音域,琼斯会把曲调下降到小三度。他还忍受迈克尔养的巨蚺(“Muscles”)缠绕在他腿上。他最亲密的朋友是辛纳特拉(Sinatra)(绰号“Frank”)。这个亲爱的混蛋要么全心全意地爱你,要么就像倒车的麦克卡车一样把你碾得粉碎。在辛纳特拉和雷·查尔斯(Ray Charles)(绰号“69”)的陪伴下,他尽情狂欢,一小时喝下七杯双份杰克丹尼威士忌。他的小拇指上戴着辛纳特拉的戒指,上面有他来自西西里岛的家徽。

He and Frank shared more than cutting hit albums together. Namely, rackets and gangs. On Chicago’s South Side in the 1930s young Quincy saw storerooms full of liquor and dead bodies every day. No joke. He went once to the wrong neighbourhood and got his hand nailed to a fence until his Daddy rescued him. When he was seven his mother was confined to a mental institution. His only future seemed to be as a gangster, until fate intervened. At 11, now in Bremerton in Washington state, he was doing a little breaking-and-entering when he found an upright piano. One touch of the keys and he was hooked. He made music his mother, in a way. Every instrument he met he tried to learn, but trumpet was best. He played until an aneurysm in 1974 forced him to stop, but whenever he heard a good tune he still found himself fingering, adding the brass.

他和辛纳特拉的共同点不仅仅是一起制作热门专辑,还包括勒索和帮派。1930年代,在芝加哥的南区,年轻的琼斯对堆满酒和尸体的仓库见怪不怪。这不是开玩笑。他有一次误入危险街区,手被钉到栅栏上,最后是爸爸把他救出来。他7岁时,母亲被送进精神病院。他的未来似乎只剩下一种可能——加入帮派,直到命运出现了转机。11岁那年,他在如今位于华盛顿州的布雷默顿入室盗窃时,在房间里发现了一架立式钢琴。触摸琴键的瞬间,他就着迷了。某种程度上说,音乐成为了他的母亲。他碰到什么乐器都想学,小号则是最好的。他一直吹小号,直到1974年因动脉瘤而不得不停止演奏,但每当他听到好曲子时,他的手指还是会不由自主地在空中按键,仿佛在为曲子加入铜管伴奏。

Jazz was his career for some time: playing in big bands, or from 1959 building his own. That was the music brothers made. Audiences loved them, but once they left the stage they had to eat in the kitchen. His antennae were out for racism ever after. Because his dreams were huge, he notched up a string of firsts: first black vice-president of a major record label, Mercury; first black nominee for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards; first black conductor and music director at the awards ceremony itself. “First” usually meaning “only”. From the age of 15 he had wanted to write film scores, but they didn’t use brothers. When he was hired to write the score for “In Cold Blood”, Truman Capote called up the director to moan about it. The motherfucker then apologised in tears when it was nominated for an Academy Award.

爵士乐一度是琼斯追求的职业:他为大型乐队演奏,1959年开始组建自己的乐队。这是他和兄弟们一起创造的音乐。观众喜爱他们的表演,但每当下了台,他们便只能窝在厨房吃饭。从那时起,他便对种族歧视有了高度的敏锐。因为他心怀远大梦想,不断创下一连串第一的记录:第一位担任大型唱片公司水星唱片的副总裁的黑人;第一位获得奥斯卡最佳原创歌曲提名的黑人;第一位在奥斯卡颁奖典礼上担任指挥和音乐总监的黑人。第一通常也意味着唯一。从15岁开始,他便梦想为电影创作配乐,但彼时的电影业并不欢迎黑人。当他被邀请为电影《冷血》创作配乐时,杜鲁门·卡波特(Truman Capote)还打电话给导演抱怨。作品最终获得了奥斯卡提名,卡波特这个混蛋泪流满面地给他道歉。

In all he had seven Oscar nominations. He wrote scores for “The Pawnbroker”, “The Italian Job”, “In the Heat of the Night” and “The Colour Purple”. Plenty of others, too. And TV added to his versatility. He became a composer for “The Cosby Show” and producer of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, which earned him millions and made Will Smith a star. But he had never in his life made music for money. Once you went after that shit, God walked out of the room. The music was all he cared about. He liked to write it from midnight to 10am, lying on the floor in his own mansion in Bel-Air, legs up on the bed. Relaxing into an alpha state. Being alone was fine. He’d had three marriages, seven children and girl-friends all over the world. He was a bit of a dog with women.

昆西·琼斯总共获得7次奥斯卡提名。他为《当铺老板》(The Pawnbroker)、《偷天换日》(The Italian Job)、《炎热的夜晚》(In the Heat of the Night)、《紫色》(The Colour Purple)等许许多多的电影配乐。多才多艺的昆西也涉猎电视剧。他是电视剧《考斯比一家》(The Cosby Show)的编曲,也是《新鲜王子妙事多》(The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)的制片人,这个节目让他赚了数百万美元,也捧红了威尔·史密斯(Will Smith)。但他这一生从未为钱创作,他认为一旦被金钱驱使,上帝就离你而去。他只醉心于音乐。他喜欢从午夜创作到第二天上午十点,躺在加州贝莱尔的豪宅地板上,双腿搭在床上。放松进入阿尔法最佳脑波状态,独处也没问题。昆西有过三段婚姻,七个孩子,女朋友遍布世界,他在感情方面有点风流(虽然他对音乐的执着和热爱始终如一)。

The state of popular music in the 21st century gave him a headache or two. Rap and hip-hop were often too violent. Taylor Swift he dismissed. But then he hadn’t rated Elvis or The Beatles either: no-playing motherfuckers who couldn’t sing. He was irked that too many producers were lazy and greedy, and too many raggedy-ass “stars” knew nothing about music. For all his oddness, Michael had been obsessive about every detail of his songs. And after “Thriller” there was no “white music” and “black music”; all cats sang all sorts. The world had come together. Into his 90s, the mostly contented Prince of Bel-Air saw no reason not to go on enriching the ever-evolving brew.

21世纪的流行音乐曾让他头疼不已。说唱和嘻哈音乐往往过于暴力。他对泰勒-斯威夫特(Taylor Swift)不以为然,不过他对猫王和披头士也不屑一顾,认为他们是只会演奏不会唱歌的混蛋。让他恼火的是,太多制作人懒惰贪婪,太多二流明星对音乐一无所知。迈克尔·杰克逊虽然古怪,但他对歌曲的每一个细节都非常执着。《颤栗》(Thriller)之后,白人音乐黑人音乐之分已不复存在。所有的音乐人都开始创作各种风格的歌曲,世界变得和谐。90多岁时,昆西已经心满意足,但这位贝莱尔王子认为没有理由不继续丰富这个不断发展的世界。
翻译组:

Jack Jan,实践出真知

Crystal SISU小菜鸡,扎根生长也自然流淌

Albert,男,热爱笔译的摸鱼人。希望一直有求知和宽阔的心
校对组:

Xiao,富春江小翻译

Rachel,心有懵虎,细嗅乌龟

Rachel,学理工科,爱跳芭蕾,热爱文艺的非典型翻译

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感想

本期感想

Very,男,电气民工,经济学人资浅爱好者

第一次听We are the world,大概是这首歌推出许久以后了,应该是90年代。那时的人都充满了对未来的渴望,对望时也能看出眼神中的生机勃勃。小的时候被慢慢灌输地球村的概念,大概是解脱禁锢不久的原因,我们对世界都充满了好奇,使劲地吮吸着各种东西,因为无论好坏,都是比现状来得更好一些。

港台自然是一种最佳的途径,他们被世界浸润许久,我们直接接触世界的能力又相当缺乏,所以港台的文化,自然是我们了解世界不二的选择。刚开始听《光辉岁月》的时候,只知道它是歌颂曼德拉的。当时想当然地认为这肯定是一位为人民为世界作出无私贡献的伟大人物,至于他的功过是非在南非人民或者别的非西方视角而言是如何的,却是很后来才想明白的。但其中歌词里缤纷色彩闪出的美丽/是因它没有/分开每种色彩,只是觉得大概讲的是人种之间没有区别,应该平等之类的呼吁吧。从知道同性恋到倡导同性恋平等,却是经历了比较久的过程,所以在全都平等的大环境下(比之更早的则是男女平等),接受其中某些少数群体平等的意识也是水到渠成的事。但近些年快进到不接受就是罪大恶极,却是太快了一些。马斯克生儿育女的故事各位应该已经在各种自媒体的狂轰乱炸下耳熟能详了,而似乎对于这类的平等从早前的极端走向了另一个极端。当然在这里我并不讨论这些事情本身的对错,那是另一个话题了,想讨论的只是,我们对于这些问题的看法及行为本身,是否也是一种盲从。

在八九十年代,我们对于大量新的观念的涌入持盲从的态度是可以理解的,毕竟已经被蒙蔽了许多年,需要一定时间的消化和理解。但是经过半个世纪的学习和消化,如今的我们若是仍在处于一种跟随的状态时,这或多或少就有些危险了。几千年来几乎所有的外来文化都是被这片广袤大地所同化的,换种新的名词表示就是本地化。但是这几十年来似乎我们对于同化外来文化的能力在逐渐消失,可喜的是这几年随着国力增强和自信心的提高,越来越多的人开始质疑西方的理念和运动。当然在某些以此为生的群体里,抵制的声音还是占大多数,也是在表面上也嚷着要结合国情,探索自己的道路,但实际的行为却老实得紧,几乎只是在引入、汉化。

再分析此中的原因,却是一件冒大不韪的事,总而言之就是我们的整体架构不鼓励说真话、办真事,而是默许表里不一、阴奉阳违,氛围如此,就不能怪个体趋之若鹜了。


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