請特別注意 4 分 05 秒的地方!腳踏四條船 (soul、funk、hip hop & jazz) 的創作型歌姬 Erykah Badu,跟南方新派民謠搖滾才子 Jim James 大擁抱,象徵黑人地下音樂跟白人另類音樂的大團結,感動飆淚指數大破表!身為歌迷,這樣的擁抱很令人嫉妒啊;只是我實在不知道究竟該嫉妒爆炸頭的那位還是大鬍子的那個....
I break into a lyrical freestyle Grab the mic, look into the crowd and see smiles Cause they see a woman standing up on her own two Sloppy slouching is something I won't do
Some think that we can't flow Stereotypes, they got to go I'm a mess around and flip the scene into reverse (With what?) With a little touch of "Ladies First"
Who said the ladies couldn't make it, you must be blind If you don't believe, well here, listen to this rhyme Ladies first, there's no time to rehearse I'm divine and my mind expands throughout the universe
這一段歌詞出現在上面 MV 的 1:12 到 1:56 間,穿插 Latifah 以非洲大元帥姿態獨自兵棋推演的畫面,儼然宣告著「男人辦的到的,我們也可以!」言辭中流露的樂觀與近乎吹牛的自信,也是老派嘻哈最常用的基調,並且鎖定主流社會對於女性的刻板印象,施予點到為止的抗議 (Some think that we can't flow/Stereotypes, they got to go)。如此宏揚女權,用今天的眼光來看,不免惹來「重蹈父權覆轍」之譏,但容我再強調一次,那可是 1989 年!當年的你敢這樣嗆你爸嗎?(廢話當然不敢,毛都沒長幾根,嗆屁啊)
Love 的痛調則不然。他先是撂了一段讓異性戀男人無法回嘴的感性連珠炮 (Believe me when I say being a woman is great, you see/ I know all the fellas out there will agree with me/ Not for being one but for being with one/ Because when it's time for loving it's the woman that gets some;MV 的 0:53 至 1:03 片段),然後同時提醒兩性聽眾「母愛真偉大/ 手足情尤深」(To enable you to aid yourself and get paid/ And the material that has no meaning I wish to slay/ Pay me every bit of your attention/ Like mother, like daughter, I would also like to mention..../ Desperately stressing I'm the daughter of a sister/ Who's the mother of a brother who's the brother of another/ Plus one more, all four have a job to do, we doing it/ Respect due, to the mother who's the root of it;MV 的 2:14 至 2:37 片段),完全訴諸愛情與親情的策略,可以說是從生活層面出發的溫和、實踐派女性主義,也體現了平易近人、不作高論的 hip-hop 精神。
Sub Pop 旗下的 The Helio Sequence,來自重量級獨立樂團與電影導演群聚的波特蘭,並於今年初發行了他們在去年灌錄的專輯。鼓手/ 鍵盤手/ synth 編曲人 Benjamin Weikel 長期在 Modest Mouse 代班,台灣樂迷對他當不陌生。至於主唱兼吉他手 Brandon Summers,根據 Wikipedia 的說法,是因為聲帶受了傷而調整唱腔,連帶使得新專輯的樂風更趨多元。日前跟 Minus the Bear 同台巡迴時,Alex Rose 盛讚他們是「我所聽過最震撼的雙人樂團」;顯然,在時而簡單、時而急促的聲線之外,包裹著主旋律的精心編曲,才是他們的最強項。雖然聽不到恢宏的氣勢與華麗的混音,Helio Sequence 竟讓我聯想起幾部小預算的好萊塢劇情片,而他們共同的特徵是「諸多配角的演技大亂鬥,比主角的戲分還要好看」....
兩人樂團的配器策略,自然不如那些十餘人編制的後搖大鍋炒容易揮灑。是以 Helio Sequence 採取一種介於 singer-songwriter 與傳統搖滾樂團的折衷,填詞之用心尤其令人喝采。新專輯的主打歌〈Can't Say No〉便是典例:
Captivate, cultivate, relegate and chalk it up to the basic needs Dissipate, isolate, these days you can't run or believe all that you read And all the kids with the down-low brainwaves Holding up signs saying "guns kill, gods saves" And all in the form of the faceless news cast Commercials that say live well but die fast (第一遍主歌;影片當中的 0:28 至 0:58 段落)
天哪!簡直寫得跟現代詩一樣嘛 (而且實在太難翻譯了;無法理解原文的朋友,只能跟你們說聲抱歉)。短短沒幾句,都會裡眾聲喧嘩的意象,街道上的看板、廣告海報、遊行標語、電視牆畫面,無不形於文字、躍然欲出,彷彿聽者也同樣置身在那個資訊爆炸、感官過載的城市鬧區。老一輩的歌詞創作者,如 Neil Young 者,大多擅長這種伎倆;能看到年輕小夥子出手也有這種功力,總是令人精神一振!
〈Can't Say No〉最讓我絕倒的兩句歌詞如下:
Obstinate heeders of organized ignorance Making up rules for the mute and the willing (bridge 的第三、四句;影片中的 2:22 至 2:29 段落)
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