1998年他们来到了这里--田纳西州的纳什维尔，乡村音乐的圣地；在这里，歌唱伤心和失落能获得巨大的财富。
半个世纪以来，梦想家们、矿工的女儿们都加入了这个艰难跋涉的朝圣队伍，但谁也没能像这些孩子那样在地理和文化上走得那么远。
在纳什维尔，他们一度以为自己挖到了金子。他们得到一个唱片合同，但未能实现。接着悲剧又一次上演，他们的处境极为不妙。此时，新兴音乐都市纳什维尔进入历史上最萧条的时期，来自俄罗斯的少年明星们又只不过是个默默无名的乐队。五年中先后有四家唱片公司接手乐队，但没来得及推出一张唱片它们就都倒闭了。
今天是音乐家，明天就失业。父母亲的教诲跟岁月一样古老，但到目前为止，他们仍在工作。一个原因是他们率真质朴的才华。但是像大多数乡村乐队一样，他们最大的成功就是在乡村老大剧院进行演出。具有讽刺意味的是，乐队在现场演出时，最受欢迎的曲目不是西方的乡村乐，而恰恰是东方的乡村乐：一首名为《Porushka》的古老的俄罗斯民歌，也是一首蓝草音乐。
天才和毅力似乎正获得回报。一月份他们获得格莱美提名，首张CD和《白令海峡》记录片发行，他们还应邀去纽约，并约好在时代广场B.B.金俱乐部进行表演。对任何乐队来说，走到这一步都是一个成功。对来自奥布宁斯克的六个青年而言，今晚的格莱美奖无论得失如何，他们已经大获全胜。
注释:
1) bluegrass n. 早熟禾；蓝草音乐（一种复调乡土音乐，用未经扩音的弦乐器演奏）
2) Nashville n. 纳什维尔（美国田纳西州首府）
3) waterway n. 水路，排水沟
4) straightforward a. 简单的，易懂的
5) Hank Williams and Patsy Cline: 汉克·威廉姆斯，1923年出生于美国亚拉巴马州，他为乡村音乐的发展和流传做出了巨大的贡献。佩茜·克莱恩，1932年出生于美国弗吉尼亚州，著名乡村音乐艺术家，被誉为二十世纪五、六十年代的流行歌后
6) rigorous a. 严格的
7) trek n. 艰苦跋涉
8) boomtown n. （美）新兴城市
9) gig n. （美俚）活儿
10) Grand Ole Opry: 乡村老大剧院，在田纳西州的纳什维尔市，为乡村音乐的圣地
11) showstopper n. 因为特别精彩而被掌声打断的表演
12) 这里指“白令海峡”获第45届格莱美“最佳乡村乐演奏”( Best Country Instrumental Performance )提名
13) B.B.King是二十世纪后半叶吉他领域里的权威人物，是这个时代布鲁斯音乐的领导者之一。
14) jackpot n. （桥牌）累积赌注，累积奖金
★★《2003年11月号-第43期-Disc01-11》★★
We're Still Here
(Bradley is awaken by the alarm early in the morning.)
Bradley: Ahh not now, not now man. Ahhh. What a dream! Wait till you hear about this one, bro. Just me, on a desert island with Jennifer Lopez. Just a fridge full of chocolate 1)mousse. Humm... or was it coconut? Ahh I can’t remember. Anyway I was just about to taste it. Then the alarm clock had to spoil it. But anyways, what a dream! Eh bro? Paul?
(Bradley opens his eyes and realizes that Paul has left Spain yesterday. Later he comes to the dinning hall.)
Maria: Right up.
Jon: That is fantastic, you make a great Spanish 2)omelet Maria.
Maria: Be surprised...
Hannah: 3)Yummy, Paul, pass us the err...(realizing Paul is not here) his flight will be about to land right now.
Bradley: I wonder what the flight was like.
Jon: Guys, come on, it was Paul’s decision to leave and he seemed happy enough, so we should just move on.
Bradley: It seems really weird without him.
Rachel: Yeah, well he did leave yesterday. It’s going to take some getting use to.
Tina: But we’ll be fine.
Jon: Fine.
Hannah: Will we?
Maria: Hannah, why aren’t you eating? Is there something wrong with the food?
Tina: No, it’s not the food, Maria, it’s Paul. He’s gone.
Jon: And you know, we just miss him a bit. Some of us really miss him.
(They meet their manager Simon later.)
Simon: And now, tomorrow we have a press conference to officially announce Paul’s departure. And to emphasize the fact that the band will continue. Now the question is, under what name?
Jon: What do you mean?
Simon: Well err... it probably hasn’t escaped your notice but you’re called S-Club 7, and now there are only six of you, which gives us two choices, either we can ask Ricky Martin to join the band or we can rename you.
Hannah: Ricky will never replace Paul.
Rachel: Oh...Hang on a minute, don’t be too hasty about this.
Simon: The Ricky thing was a joke.
Hannah: Thanks.
Bradley: How about “Bradley and the others”?
Jo: Don’t push me, Brad.
Simon: OK, OK, I after 4)consulting with the record company, we’ve come up with two options for this: S-Club or S-Club 6.
Jon: S-Club 6, now that’s got a ring to it.
Jo: Ooohh...
Hannah: No Jon, that’ll just keep us reminded of Paul.
Tina: How?
Hannah: Well because when we say we are called S-Club 6, people will go “Well, didn’t you used to be called S-Club 7”?
Tina: Humm...
Hannah: And then we’ll have to say, yeah, because Paul’s left.
Tina: OK, so we call it S-Club then.
Bradley: Sounds a bit weird.
Jo: No, I actually quite like it.
Rachel: Yeah, I think it’s cool.
Hannah: No, it completely changes the whole name of the band.
Jon: That’s because we are a completely different band, Hanna, we’re S-Club now.
Hannah: True, humm... but it’s not that good.
Jon: Well no were one down, but you know we can’t be S-Club 7 anymore.
(The team member begins to quarrel.)
Simon: What do you usually do when you have a big decision to make?
Hannah: Well we...
Bradley: We call Paul...
Rachel: And then Paul sums up the good points and the bad points and then we have a vote.
Simon: That’s great. It’s just that you know Paul were here, you wouldn’t have to rename the band, now would we? Hey how about this, I got a... I got a... How about something 5)wacky? You know like, err... Like “The Flying 6)Hamsters”?
All: Oh... come on...
Rachel: You are joking...
Tina: This place is coming together as a band.
Jo: You’re startin’..
Jon: I’m not starting.
Jo: I’m givin’ it no mouth. Why don’t we just go with S Club, S Club’s fine.
Bradley: I think that we should just umm...
Simon: What?
Bradley: I think that we should just 7)sleep on it.
Rachel: Good one, Brad!
Jon: Very helpful.
把所有过去都甩啦甩啦
（清晨，布拉德利在睡梦中被闹铃吵醒。）
布拉德利：啊，别响，别响，哦。多美的梦啊！兄弟，听我说说这个梦吧。我和詹妮弗·洛佩兹在一个荒岛上，有一个塞满了巧克力奶油冻的冰箱，嗯……还是花生奶油冻来着？啊，我不记得了。不管怎样，我刚要尝一口，然后闹钟就响了起来，全完了。但不管怎样，这是多美的一个梦啊！保罗兄弟，是不是？
（布拉德利睁开眼睛，意识到保罗昨天就已经离开了西班牙。稍后他来到饭厅。）
玛丽亚∶来得正是时候啊。
乔恩∶太好吃了，你做的西班牙煎蛋卷真好吃，玛丽亚。
玛丽亚：没想到吧……
汉娜∶真好吃。保罗，递给我那个……呃……（意识到保罗不在这儿）他的航班现在应该已经到了。
布拉德利∶我想知道他旅途怎么样。
乔恩：嘿，大家伙儿，是保罗自己决定要离开的，他看起来很高兴，所以我们也应该振作起来。
布拉德利∶没有他感觉真的很古怪。
蕾切尔∶是啊。他昨天离开的。我们要过一段时间才能适应过来。
蒂娜：但我们会好起来的。
乔恩：这就好。
汉娜：我们会吗？
玛丽亚：汉娜，你为什么不吃？早餐有什么问题吗？
蒂娜∶不，不是早餐的问题，玛丽亚。是保罗，他走了。
乔恩∶你知道，我们开始想念他了，我们当中有几个非常想念他。
（稍后大家与经纪人西蒙见面。）
西蒙∶明天我们会举行一场新闻发布会正式宣告保罗的离开，并强调乐队会继续下去的事实。现在的问题是，乐队该用什么名字呢？
乔恩：你是什么意思？
西蒙∶嗯……你们也许没注意到，你们的演唱组被称为“七小龙”，但现在只有六个人。这样我们就有两个选择，一是我们叫来瑞奇·马丁加入我们的演唱组，二是重新命名。
汉娜∶瑞奇永远也取代不了保罗。
蕾切尔：哦……等一下，这件事情可千万不能草率决定。
西蒙：关于瑞奇的主意只不过是个玩笑。
汉娜：谢谢。
布拉德利：叫“布拉德利和其他人”怎么样？
巧儿∶别把我惹火了，布拉德。
西蒙∶好吧好吧，在和唱片公司商量后，我们提出了两个选择：一是叫“小龙”，一是叫“六小龙”。
乔恩∶“六小龙”，听起来不错。
巧儿：哦。
汉娜∶不行，乔恩，那会使我想起保罗。
蒂娜∶怎么会呢？
汉娜∶因为，当我们说我们叫“六小龙”演唱组时，别人就会问，“你们以前不是叫‘七小龙’的吗？”
蒂娜∶嗯。
汉娜∶然后我们就得说，是啊，因为保罗离开了。
蒂娜∶那好，那我们就叫“小龙”吧。
布拉德利∶听起来有些奇怪。
巧儿：不，实际上，我满喜欢的。
蕾切尔∶是啊，我觉得挺酷。
汉娜∶不行，这完全改变了乐队的名称。
乔恩∶那是因为我们已经是一个完全不同的演唱组了，汉娜，我们现在是“小龙”演唱组了。
汉娜∶的确是这样。嗯……但是，这名字并不好。
乔恩∶可是，你要知道，我们不能再叫“七小龙”。
（大家你一言我一句地吵了起来。）
西蒙∶你们通常在做重大决定的时候会怎么做？
汉娜∶我们……
布拉德利∶我们会叫来保罗……
蕾切尔∶然后保罗总结出好处和坏处，然后我们进行投票。
西蒙∶太好了，你们知道保罗在这儿，因此你不愿意重新给演唱组命名，你们愿意吗？嘿，这个怎么样？我有一个……我有一个……起一个古怪点的名字怎么样？你们知道，就像……呃，就像“飞鼠乐队”。
众人：哦……天哪……
蕾切尔∶你在开玩笑……
蒂娜∶我们大家应该团结起来。
巧儿∶是你先挑起的。
乔恩∶我没有。
巧儿∶我一句也没说。为什么我们就不能叫“小龙乐队”？“小龙乐队”挺好的。
布拉德利：我认为我们必须……
西蒙：什么？
布拉德利：我认为我们应该把这事儿先搁一搁，明天再说。
蕾切尔：好主意，布拉德。
乔恩：很有帮助。
注释:
1) mousse n. 甜奶油冻
2) omelet n. 煎蛋卷（鸡蛋捣碎后混入奶酪、蔬菜、果子冻或火腿肉末后做成）
3) yummy a. 美味的，滋味好的
4) consult v. 商量，协商
5) wacky a. （俚语）荒谬的；乖癖的
6) hamster n. 仓鼠
7) sleep on it: 把问题留到第二天再解决
★★《2003年11月号-第43期-Disc01-12》★★
Recovering Market
While 1)slumping CD sales have meant tough times for the music industry, it’s getting some back up from an unlikely source.
The music business has never been more commercial than it is right now. Dirty Vegas’ “Days Go By” might have been a 2)bygone if it had never been featured in this 3)spot for the Mitsubishi 4)Eclipse. The commercial 5)catapulted the previous obscure song into the top 15 and help it 6)nab a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.
Scott Shannon is the morning DJ and program director for New York’s 7)WPLJ.
Shannon (WPLJ Program Director): When that song by Dirty Vegas started to hit, we started playing it immediately and people “hey what it that, I heard that on television.”
It’s the latest music industry trick to get air play and more importantly to sell CDs. Over the past two years, CD sales have 8)plummeted by more than 100 million units: 785 million discs were sold in 2000 compared to just 681 million last year. At the same time that more people are downloading and sharing tunes online, it’s becoming more expensive to produce and promote CDs. So much so that Sony Entertainment lost $132 million dollars in the first half of its fiscal year. The Dirty Vegas commercial was such a hit that Mitsubishi followed it up with a spot for the Outlander featuring another so called electronic song, “Breathe.” The tune by a new group called Telepop Music is now on several billboard playlists.
Pierre Cachoh (Mitsubishi Motors N.A. Pres. & CEO): The most powerful 9)bloop is when a DJ comes out of a radio and says “and now the Mitsubishi song.” It’s hard to explain the phenomenon: what we were so pleased with is that we know we are breaking through when these songs become popular.
And car companies are not the only ones driving the trend. 10)Target stores recently hit the bull’s eye during the holiday shopping season with its commercial featuring a remake of the “Christmas Song” with Stevie Wonder and neo soul artist India. Arie. Target’s unexpected return on the investment is a Grammy nomination for Best Pop 11)Collaboration With Vocals. It’s the first time a song recorded specifically for commercial has received the honor. 12)Veteran artists besides Stevie Wonder are also benefiting from the concept.
During the Superbowl, Celine Dion launched her partnership with Chrysler with a cover of 13)Cyndi Lauper’s “Drove All Night.” Chrysler hopes the campaign will accelerate sales of its vehicles while Dion hopes it builds buzz for her new CD, which hits stores next month.
Volkswagen is also caught the buzz putting up fresh musician named Ben Neill in its commercials.
Ben Neill (Musician): There is a real kind of 14)convergence between a brand, an ad agency and a record company. And it’s worked out really well for me.
Time wise not too long ago if a recording artist sold their music just to be used in a commercial, it was considered selling out. Now it’s turned into a way of selling more.
无心插柳柳成荫
在CD销量骤减、业内一片萧条的情况下，唱片公司却通过一些出人意料的途径起死回生。
音乐业与商业的联系从来没有这样紧密。如果不是借着三菱“日蚀”跑车广告片的光的话，德迪·维加斯的这首《逝水年华》也许早已成为过眼云烟。这部商业广告片把这首原本籍籍无名的歌很快捧入前15名，并助它获得格莱美最佳舞曲专辑提名。
斯科特·夏侬是纽约WPLJ电台的早晨节目主持人和节目总监。
夏侬（WPLJ电台节目总监）: 德迪·维加斯的歌一经推出，我们立即播放他们的歌。人们很惊奇地说，那是什么歌？我在电视上听到过。
通过电台播放音乐唱片，更重要的是卖出更多CD--这是音乐产业的最新花样。在过去两年里，CD销量暴跌了一亿多张：2000年的唱片销量为7亿8500万张；与此对比，去年的销量仅有6亿8100万张。与此同时，越来越多的人下载和共享在线音乐，而CD的制作和宣传成本却越来越高。情况如此糟糕，以致索尼娱乐公司在其前半个财政年度就亏损了1亿3200万美元。德迪·维加斯的广告片大获成功，这使得三菱公司紧接着为“奥兰达”越野车也制作了一部广告片，即另一支所谓的电子单曲《呼吸》。这支单曲由一个名为“电视流行乐”的新组合演唱，如今它在好几个流行榜上都有名。
皮埃尔·卡赫（三菱汽车公司）: 最愚蠢的行为莫过于一个DJ跳出来说，现在是三菱公司推出的歌曲。很难解释这样的现象，当这些歌曲广为流行的时候，我们知道我们取得了突破--这正是我们乐意看到的。
并不是只有汽车公司在左右时尚。最近，塔吉特公司在假日购物旺季引发了一场风暴∶他们特别推出了史蒂夫·旺德和新灵乐艺术家印蒂亚·艾瑞重新制作的《圣诞欢歌》。塔吉特公司获得一项意外投资回报--《圣诞欢歌》获格莱美最佳流行音乐合唱奖提名。这是头一次一首专为广告录制的歌曲获此殊荣。经验丰富的艺术家，包括史蒂夫·旺德，正受惠于这一观念。
在美国橄榄球超级杯赛期间，席琳·迪翁开始与克莱斯勒汽车公司合作，重新演绎辛迪·劳帕的那首《为爱奔驰》。克莱斯勒公司希望这个商业活动能促进汽车销售，迪翁则希望能为她下个月面市的新唱片制造声势。
大众汽车公司也赶上了潮流，他们起用一位名叫本·尼尔的新歌手，并与之签订了广告合约。
本·尼尔（音乐家）: 在品牌广告代理商和唱片公司之间存在一种真正的一致性。对我来说，这确实很有效果。
不久前，如果歌手们单凭商业音乐来谋生，被视为异类。如今它已经成为一种唱片热销的手段。
注释:
1) slump v. （物价等）暴跌；萧条
2) bygone n. 过去的事情，往事
3) spot n. 插在广播（或电视节目）间的简短广告（或通知）
4) eclipse n. 被遮蔽；（声明、威望等）黯然失色
5) catapult n. 弹弓
6) nab v. 猛然抓取；逮捕
7) WPLJ: 纽约一个流行/摇滚音乐电台，播出歌曲以排行榜前40名流行歌曲为主
8) plummet v. 骤然跌落
9) bloop v. 做蠢事
10) Target: 塔吉特是继沃尔玛、克罗格、西尔斯之后的美国第四大零售商，主要经营服装、家庭用品、电器、卫生、美容品以及日常消费品
11) collaboration n. 协作
12) veteran n. 老战士，老兵
13) Cyndi Lauper: 辛迪·劳帕于1953年6月出生于美国纽约皇后区，曾担任“蓝色天使”的乐队歌手，并赢得BILLBOARD 最佳女艺人，《滚石》最佳艺人，CASHBOX年度最佳女艺人等荣誉
14) convergence n. 集中，收敛
★★《2003年11月号-第43期-Disc01-13》★★
A process of change
1)Napster’s gone but the technology remains. And so does the damage to profits. So can the music industry adapt to the times and turn the technology that’s taken its profits into a positive.
Downloading music from the Internet has never been more popular--millions of people doing it daily, illegally and for free.
With around one billion music tracks available online, it’s difficult to 2)quantify lost revenue, but while record companies are 3)reeling, they also acknowledge downloading presents a massive opportunity.
Rob Wells (New Media Director, Universal Music Group): What we’re excelling is marketing and the big question everyone asks is that how do we turn consumers off of the free music and on to the paid for downloads.
Not an easy task. Until now the five major 4)labels Universal, EMI, Sony, Warner music and BMG have had problems of their own download services. But now they may have a road map from an unlikely source, computer maker, Apple. In April, Apple launched iTunes, an Internet site where users pay 99 US cents to download a song with more than four million downloads recorded already, it’s by far the most successful pay site. Here’s how the iTunes business model sets itself apart from the rest: there is no monthly subscription fee, users can own rather than rent music, and users aren’t required to buy entire albums.
Rob Wells: I think it ironic that it’s taken a hardware manufacturer to show us, the record industry, how to actually market to consumers, and how to actually sell digital goods to consumers.
But the music industry’s search for new business models doesn’t just apply to the labels. 5)HMV, one of the world’s largest music retailers has established its own download site and hopes to bring the Internet experience into its stores.
Change is now the 6)mantra of the music business at all levels. The Skint Records, a small British label famous for signing Fatboy Slim. The new digital era could make a difference to the bottom line.
Damian Harris (Co-Founder, Skint Records): We’ve signed a couple of new acts, we wanna introduce them to people but the costs of putting out a single are crippling.
So the Skint wants to release singles online. This way the artists get exposure and the costs remain realistic. Universal also plans on using its connection to the stars as an online marketing tool. This means buy a U2 album and you may also get an exclusive interview with the band, but Universal intends to sell more than just music. Want a broadband connection? Just go to your favorite artists web site and sign up.
As a window into youth culture, MTV will try to convince its viewers that paying to download music is the future. And the industry will have to be careful. There are many who believe the music industry’s best days have past. But for the players themselves, it’s just a question of change.
