|
|
迈克尔·杰克逊—流行音乐界的巴拉克·奥巴马
作者：Joseph Harker
Speechlessme译自英国《卫报》，The Guardian , 2009年6月26日，周五
五十年代有猫王。六十年代有披头士。七十和八十年代给了我们迈克尔·杰克逊--首位成为全球流行天王的黑人艺术家。和其他任何一位歌唱家不同的是，他的音乐和表演技巧所饱含的能量及爆发力征服了所有的国家和所有的种族。他是音乐界的巴拉克·奥巴马。
记得在1982-83年间我还在诺丁汉念书，那时学校的每个周末晚会都以他的唱片«战栗»为背景音乐。不仅仅是以单曲，而且是以整张唱片为背景。那是用Betamax（译者注：世界第一款独立的盒式视频录像机）的时代，在我们自己的聚会上，我们甚至放«战栗»的录像。
当他1988年到英国巡演时，每一个朋友见到我的第一个问题都是：“你弄到杰克逊的票了吗？”虽然麦当娜和王子在那时都是超级巨星，但杰克逊的演唱会仍然是城中最棒的。
对于黑人来说，正如奥巴马一样，他的成功就是我们的成功。那年去看他在Wembley 体育馆演唱会的观众绝大多数是白人，但这并不意味着他的音乐哪怕有一点点偏离自己的灵魂。它恰恰说明了这个黑人是如此的才华横溢，以至于所有肤色的人都没法不爱上他。
这时的媒体已经沉迷于"Wacko Jacko"（怪人杰克）（译注：迈生前最讨厌的称呼，始于英国小报）。确实他的肤色淡化成为了问题—许多人把它当成了他极其希望被白人世界接受的标志。其实，在他的巅峰时代他也没有在种族和政治问题中迷失（在作品Black or White中他传达了并不很激进的此类意识）。
但是，尽管很容易就可以给他贴上“汤姆叔叔” 的标签（译注：美国作家斯托夫人小说《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中的经典黑人形象，特点是高贵，温和忍让的基督徒），即使是最激进的黑人也明白：在他所有的古怪行为，异于常人的生活方式的后面，是一个绝无仅有的天才，他的故事给人以灵感和鼓舞。
Joseph Harker
The Guardian, Friday 26 June 2009
Article history
In the 50s there was Elvis. In the 60s there were the Beatles. The 70s and 80s gave us Michael Jackson, the first black artist to become the number one global pop star of his age. Unlike any other vocalist, the energy and explosiveness of both his music and his showmanship captured all races in all nations. He was the Barack Obama of music.
I remember as a student in Nottingham around 1982-83, when every weekend party had his Thriller album playing in the background. Not just the odd track, but the whole album. At our own party, back in those Betamax days, we even played the video.
When he toured Britain in 1988, the first question any friend would ask was: "Have you go the Jacko tickets yet?" Though Madonna and Prince were superstars by then, Jackson's was still the number one show in town.
For black people, just as with Obama, his success was our success. The fact that the audience at his Wembley stadium concert that year was predominantly white did not mean that somehow his music was less true to his soul. It was just a sign that here was a black man who was so talented that people of all colours couldn't help loving him.
By this stage the media was well into its "Wacko Jacko" obsession. And it is true that his skin-lightening was a problem – seen by many as a sign of his desperation for acceptance into a white world. Neither, during his peak years, did he stray into race or politics (apart from the bland message of Black or White).
But though it would have been easy to label him an Uncle Tom, even the most radical black folk understood that underlying all his weirdness, his idiosyncrasies, his strange lifestyle choices, was a uniquely gifted character whose story was inspirational. |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2009-12-4 08:55:20
变色卡
显身卡
楼主
