一支以“肘”为名的乐队可能会让你觉得古怪诡秘吧？但就是这支乐队，十几年来在摇滚界默默耕耘，执著地一路走来，终于“肘”击英国音乐水星奖！
And What Have You Done With Elbow?
谁动了我的“肘”？
By Manatt Fier
赵瑞超 译
The winner of this year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize goes to Elbow’s forth album The Seldom Seen Kid. The 20,000 pound Prize is one of Britain’s most coveted music prizes and is given each year to the British or Irish artist who succeeds in creating the Record of the Year. Elbow frontman Guy Garvey was overwhelmed. He gushed “I know I’m supposed to be cool and say something coy but it’s literally the best thing that’s ever happened to us” in his acceptance speech. In addition to prestige, the band also takes home a $35,000 cash award. The Seldom Seen Kid was a top 5 chart hit in the UK when released in March.
Listening to the modern Britpop group Elbow is like watching raindrops slide down windows during summer rain showers; mesmerizing, somber, gloomy but relaxing. The Manchester, England quintet has mastered the dream pop style that’s almost reminiscent of a psychedelic pop style of an earlier decade, separating themselves from the nearest pop/rock band with great success. Rocking the U.S. and European charts with hit singles and albums, Elbow has enjoyed all the success that comes with thriving music careers. Elbow began as a project of Guy Garvey (vocals), Richard Jupp (drums), Craig Potter (organ), Mark Potter (guitar) and Pete Turner (bass), all of whom met each other while at college in Bury in the 1990s. Establishing a home base of Manchester, the newly-formed (and self-proclaimed “prog without the solos”) rock band started out by playing gigs at various venues locally before finally signing with Island Records in 1998. A series of labels left Elbow quickly blowing through both Island and EMI before finally settling on the Manchester independent label Uglyman. The releasing of the EPs Newborn and Any Day Now on that label led to the attention of V2, who signed the group with a contract and led to the release of the 2001 album Asleep in the Back. The album got a nod for that year’s Mercury Prize, making it across the pond as a U.S. release in 2002. Elbow’s 2004 album, Cast of Thousands, also fared well with American listeners, making the Billboard 200 and Top Heatseekers charts. But it wasn’t until Elbow’s 2008 release, The Seldom Seen Kid that the band’s name really skyrocketed in the music industry.
A lot of bands come roaring out of the blocks full of youthful passion and claiming to be in it “for the long haul”. They make a great debut album and then stall or run out of gas. Elbow have done it the other way round. Elbow’s experimental and often melancholy Britpop genre of music has catapulted the band from Manchester, England to radio stations and charts across the U.S., stunning the rock scene with an emotional and almost psychedelic-sounding style of music that has put the quintet on the public radar since 1998. Elbow’s often playful tunes have caught on like a virus in the rock industry, infiltrating all types of media on their way to the charts. Here are the young men then, a weight on their shoulders, but love in their hearts.
“肘”乐队凭借第四张专辑《罕见的家伙》夺得今年的英国水星音乐大奖。水星奖是英国最令人神往的年度音乐奖项之一，颁发给获年度最佳唱片的英国或爱尔兰艺人，奖金高达两万英镑。“肘”乐队主唱盖伊•加维领奖时激动万分地说：“我想我应该冷静点，说一些谦虚的话，但这简直是我们经历过的最美妙的事情。”乐队不仅载誉而归，还捧回了35,000美元的现金大奖。《罕见的家伙》三月份在英国发行时，高居英国专辑榜前五位。
聆听“肘”乐队演绎的现代英伦摇滚音乐，就仿佛在夏日倾盆大雨中静观雨点沿窗户滑落，那份忧郁让人沉迷，却又酣畅淋漓。这个来自英格兰曼彻斯特的五人组合在他们的音乐中娴熟地运用了梦幻流行元素，让人不禁回想起十年前的迷幻流行风格，从而成功地在最近的众多流行/摇滚乐队中脱颖而出。“肘”乐队的单曲和专辑都雄霸欧美音乐排行榜，他们也享受着蒸蒸日上的音乐事业带来的成功。乐队由盖伊•加维（主唱）、理查德•贾普（鼓手）、克雷格•波特（风琴手）、马克•波特（吉他手）和皮特•特纳（贝斯手）五人组成，他们20世纪90年代在贝里读大学时相识。这支新建的摇滚乐队（自称为“没有独唱的摇滚”）以曼彻斯特为大本营，在当地的各种场所演出，一直到1998年与岛屿唱片公司签约。接连被岛屿和百代遗弃后，“肘”乐队终于落脚曼彻斯特的独立唱片制作公司丑客。乐队在丑客旗下发行了两张细碟《新生》和《任一天》，并受到了另一家唱片公司V2的青睐。V2与“肘”乐队签约，于2001年为其发行了专辑《沉睡》。该专辑获当年英国水星音乐奖提名，2002年还飘洋过海在美国发行。乐队2004年的专辑《千万次》也受到了美国听众的热捧，入围公告牌排行榜前200名并荣登新进艺人榜。但直到2008年《罕见的家伙》的发行才真正使乐队名声大振。
很多乐队带着青春的激情一炮走红，并扬言要成为音乐界的长青树。他们的首张唱片一鸣惊人，但随后便黯然失色，销声匿迹了。“肘”乐队的发展与此截然不同。他们那忧郁的试验性的英伦流行音乐从英格兰曼彻斯特走出，在电台回响，并登上美国排行榜，饱含感情又带着迷幻风格的音乐震撼了摇滚乐坛，使这个五人乐队成为1998年后音乐界的亮点。“肘”乐队惯常的戏谑曲调像病毒般在摇滚界蔓延，通过各种媒体爬上排行榜。就是这群年轻人，肩负重任，心怀梦想。
Weather to Fly
试飞的好天气
From the album The Seldom Seen Kid
选自专辑《罕见的家伙》
Are we having the time of our life?
Are we having the time of our lives?
Are we coming across clear?
Are we coming across fine?
Are we part of the plan here?
Are we having the time of our lives?
Are we coming across clear?
Are we coming across fine?
Are we having the time of our lives?
Are we part of the plan here?
We have the driver and time on our hands
One little room and the biggest of plans.
The days were shaping up ,
Frosty and bright.
Perfect weather to fly.
Pounding the streets where my father’s feet still
Ring from the walls,
we’d sing in the doorways,
or bicker and row
Just figuring how we were wired inside
Perfect weather to fly.
So in looking to stray from the line
we decided instead
we should pull out the thread that was
stitching us into this tapestry vile.
And why wouldn’t you try?
Perfect weather to fly.
We have the driver and time on our hands
One little room and the biggest of plans.
The days were shaping up,
Frosty and bright.
Perfect weather to fly.
Pounding the streets where my fathers feet still
Ring from the walls,
we’d sing in the doorways,
or bicker and row
Just figuring how we were wired inside
Perfect weather to fly.
So in looking to stray from the line
we decided instead
we should pull out the thread that was
stitching us into this tapestry vile,
And why wouldn’t you try?
Perfect weather to fly.
我们在享受生命吗？
我们在享受生活吗？
我们过得轻松吗？
我们过得舒服吗？
我们规划好了吗？
我们在享受生活吗？
我们过得轻松吗？
我们过得舒服吗？
我们在享受生活吗？
我们规划好了吗？
我们有驾驶员，也有时间，
小小的空间可以放飞最大的梦想。
天公作美，
凉爽晴朗，
试飞的好天气。
我们在大街上又蹦又跳，
依稀听到父亲的脚步声从墙内传来；
我们在大门口唱歌，
或者争吵、玩闹，
内心莫名地躁动不安，
试飞的好天气。
在街道上向外张望，
我们决定
要挣脱命运女神的安排。
为什么不试试？
试飞的好天气。
我们有驾驶员，也有时间，
小小的空间可以放飞最大的梦想。
天公作美，
凉爽晴朗，
试飞的好天气。
我们在大街上又蹦又跳，
依稀听到父亲的脚步声从墙内传来；
我们在大门口唱歌，
或者争吵、玩闹，
内心莫名地躁动不安。
试飞的好天气。
在街道上向外张望，
我们决定
要挣脱命运女神的安排。
为什么不试试？
试飞的好天气。
. Nationwide Mercury Prize：英国水星音乐奖，设立于1992年，是英国最重要的音乐奖项之一，与美国格莱美奖齐名。
. coveted: 令人垂涎的。
. Britpop: 英式摇滚乐，独立摇滚乐的一种，源于20世纪90年代；mesmerizing: 令人入迷的；somber: 忧郁的。
quintet: 五重奏乐团，五重唱组合；reminiscent: 使人想起……的；psychedelic: 引起幻觉的。
. prog: ＜英口＞节目，programme的缩写；gig: 演奏会，演唱会；venue: 聚集地点，会场。
. EMI: 百代唱片公司，全称是Electric and Musical Industries Ltd，成立于1931
年，总部设在英国伦敦，是全球历史最悠久的唱片公司之一，也是目前世界五大唱片公司之一。
. skyrocket: 突升，猛涨。
. debut：首次演出；stall：（使）减速，（使）停止。。
. melancholy: 忧郁的, 悲伤的；catapult：用弩炮发射。
. infiltrate: （使）渗透。
. shape up: 发展顺利，良好。
. wired: 极其兴奋的。
. thread：（希腊神话中命运三女神所决定的各人的）寿数，生命历程；tapestry：挂毯，织锦；vile：非常讨厌的。