Lesson One Rock Superstars關于我們和我們的社會，他們告訴了我們些什么？What Do They Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society?搖滾樂是青少年叛逆的音樂。搖滾樂評論家約相?羅克韋爾Rock is the music of teenage rebellion.- John Rockwell, rock music critic知其崇拜何人便可知其人。小說家羅伯特?佩恩?沃倫By a mans heroes ye shall know him.- Robert Penn Warren, novelist1972年6月的一天，芝加哥圓形劇場擠滿了大汗淋漓、瘋狂搖擺的人們。It was mid-June, 1972, the Chicago Amphitheater was packed, sweltering, rocking.滾石搖滾樂隊的邁克?賈格爾正在臺上演唱“午夜漫步人”。Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was singing “Midnight Rambler.”演唱結束時評論家唐?赫克曼在現場。Critic Don Heckman was there when the song ended.他描述道：“賈格爾抓起一個半加侖的水罐沿舞臺前沿邊跑邊把里面的水灑向前幾排汗流浹背的聽眾。聽眾們蜂擁般跟隨著他跑，急切地希望能沾上幾滴洗禮的圣水。“Jagger,” he said, “grabs a half-gallon jug of water and runs along the front platform, sprinkling its contents over the first few rows of sweltering listeners. They surge to follow him, eager to be touched by a few baptismal drops”.1973年12月下旬的一天，約1.4萬名歌迷在華盛頓市外的首都中心劇場尖叫著，亂哄哄地擁向臺前。It was late December, 1973, Some 14,000 screaming fans were crunching up to the front of the stage at Capital Center, outside Washington, D.C.美國的恐怖歌星艾利絲?庫珀的表演正接近尾聲。Alice Cooper, Americas singing ghoul, was ending his act.他表演的最后一幕是假裝在斷頭臺上結束自己的生命。He ends it by pretending to end his life with a guillotine.他的“頭”落入一個草籃中。His “head” drops into a straw basket.“哎呀！”一個黑衣女孩子驚呼道：“啊!真是了不起，不是嗎？”。“Ooh,” gasped a girl dressed in black. “Oh, isnt that marvelous?”當時，14歲的邁克珀力也在場，但他的父母不在那里。Fourteen-year-old Mick Perlie was there too, but his parents werent.“他們覺得他惡心，惡心，惡心，”邁克說，“他們對我說，你怎么受得了那些？”“They think hes sick, sick, sick,” Mike said. “They say to me, How can you stand that stuff?”1974年1月下旬的一天，在紐約州尤寧谷城拿騷體育場內，鮑勃?狄倫和“樂隊”樂隊正在為音樂會上要用的樂器調音。It was late January, 1974. Inside the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, Bob Dylan and The Band were tuning for a concert.館外，搖滾歌迷克利斯?辛格在大雨中等待著入場。Outside, in the pouring rain, fan Chris Singer was waiting to get in.“這是朝圣，”克利斯說，“我應該跪著爬進去。”“ This is pilgrimage,” Chris said, “I ought to be crawling on my knees.”對于這一切好評及個人崇拜，你怎么看？How do you feel about all this adulation and hero worship?當米克?賈格爾的崇拜者們把他視為上帝的最高代表或是一個神時，你是贊成還是反對？When Mick Jaggers fans look at him as a high priest or a god, are you with them or against them?你也和克利斯?辛格一樣對鮑勃?狄倫懷有幾乎是宗教般的崇敬嗎？Do you share Chris Singers almost religious reverence for Bob Dylan?你認為他或狄倫是步入歧途嗎？Do you think he or Dylan is misguided?你也認為艾利絲?庫珀令人惡心而拒不接受嗎？Do you reject Alice Cooper as sick?難道你會莫名其妙地被這個奇怪的小丑吸引，原因就在于他表達出你最狂熱的幻想？Or are you drawn somehow to this strange clown, perhaps because he acts out your wildest fantasies?這些并不是閑談。These arent idle questions.有些社會學家認為對這些問題的回答可以充分說明你在想些什么以及社會在想些什么也就是說，有關你和社會的態度。Some sociologists say that your answers to them could explain a lot about what you are thinking and about what your society is thinking in other words, about where you and your society are.社會學家歐文?霍洛威茨說：“音樂表現其時代。”“Music expressed its times,” says sociologist Irving Horowitz.霍洛威茨把搖滾樂的舞臺視為某種辯論的論壇，一個各種思想交鋒的場所。Horowitz sees the rock music arena as a sort of debating forum, a place where ideas clash and crash.他把它看作是一個美國社會努力為自己的感情及信仰不斷重新進行解釋的地方。He sees it as a place where American society struggles to define and redefine its feelings and beliefs.他說：“重新解釋是一項只有青年人才能執行的任務。只有他們才把創造與夸張、理性與運動、言語與聲音、音樂與政治融為一體。”“The redefinition,” Horowitz says, “is a task uniquely performed by the young. It is they alone who combine invention and exaggeration, reason and motion, word and sound, music and politics.”作曲兼演唱家托德?倫德格倫對這個觀點表示贊同。Todd Rundgren, the composer and singer, agrees.他說：“搖滾樂與其說是一種音樂力量不如說是一種社會心理的表現。就連埃爾維斯?普雷斯利也并非是一種偉大的音樂力量，他只不過是體現了50年代青少年那種心灰意冷的精神狀態。”“Rock music,” he says, “is really a sociological expression rather than a musical force. Even Elvis Presley wasnt really a great musical force. Its just that Elvis managed to embody the frustrated teenage spirit of the 1950s.”毫無疑問，普雷斯利震驚了美國的成人世界。Of course Presley horrified adult America.報紙寫社論攻擊他，電視網也禁止播他，但也許埃爾維斯證實了霍洛威茨和倫德格倫的看法。Newspapers editorialized against him, and TV networks banned him. But Elvis may have proved what Horowitz and Rundgren believe.當他通過電視上埃德?沙利文的星期日晚間的綜藝節目出現在千百萬人面前時，就引起了某種辯論。When he appeared on the Ed.Sullivan Sunday night variety show in front of millions, a kind of “debate” took place.多數年紀大的觀眾眉頭緊皺，而大多數年輕觀眾則報以掌聲歡迎。Most of the older viewers frowned, while most of the younger viewers applauded.搖滾樂評論家們說，從埃爾維斯到艾利絲，許多歌星幫助我們的社會解說其信仰與態度。Between Elvis and Alice, rock critics say, a number of rock stars have helped our society define its beliefs and attitudes.鮑勃?狄倫觸動了對現狀不滿的神經，他唱到民權、核散落物以及孤獨。Bob Dylan touched a nerve of disaffection. He spoke of civil rights, nuclear fallout, and loneliness.他唱到變革和老一代人的迷茫，他在歌聲中唱道：“這兒正發生著什么事，你不知道是什么事，對嗎，瓊斯先生？”He spoke of change and of the bewilderment of an older generation. “Somethings happening here,” he sang. “You dont know what it is, do you, Mr.Jones?”其他人也加入了這場辯論。Others entered the debate.霍洛威茨說，甲殼蟲樂隊以幽默的方式，或許還借助麻醉品的力量來倡導和平與虔誠。傲慢無理、打架斗毆的滾石樂隊成員要求革命。杰斐遜飛機樂隊的歌曲“我們能夠聯合”和“志愿者”（有一場革命）則是激進青年的更進一步的兩項聲明。The Beatles, Horowitz said, urged peace and piety, with humor and maybe a little help from drugs. The Rolling Stones, arrogant street-fighting men, demanded revolution. The Jefferson Airplanes “We Can Be Together” and Volunteers (Got a Revolution)” were two further statements of radical youth.但政治并不是60年代強硬派搖滾樂所辯論的惟一主題，始終作為任何音樂永恒組成部分的情感也是一個重要題目。But politics wasnt the only subject debated in the hard rock of the sixties. Feelings, always a part of any musical statement, were a major subject.詹妮絲?喬普林用歌聲表達自己的悲哀。Janis Jophin sang of her sadness.甲殼蟲樂隊揭示出愛與恨之間的一系列的感情。The Beatles showed there were a range of emotions between love and hate.以后又出現了“樂隊”樂隊把鄉村音樂和西部音樂所表達的較為傳統的觀念與強硬派搖滾樂較為激進的“都市”觀念結合在一起。Then came The Band, mixing the more traditional ideas of country and western music into the more radical ”city” ideas of the hard rock.霍洛威茨認為這一成分的鄉村音樂幫助聽眾表達了一種“擺脫這一切”，“重返過去時光”的強烈愿望。This country element, Horowitz feels, helped its audience express an urge to “get away from it all,” to “go back to the old day.當前最能說明霍洛威茨看法的例子之一就是約翰?丹佛，他最著名的歌曲陽光照在我肩上、高高的落基山和鄉間小路把民間搖滾樂的音樂靈魂與力量結合了起來，而歌詞則贊美了“往日美好時光”的樸素的歡樂。.” One of the best current examples of what Horotwitz is talking about is John Denver. His most notable songs “Sunshine on My Shoulders”, “Rocky Mountain High”, and “Country Road” combine the musical drive and power of folk rock, while the lyrics celebrate the simple joys of “the good old days.”這樣的例子不勝枚舉。The list could go on and on.這些搖滾樂音樂家們和所有的藝術家一樣反映出我們借以認識并形成屬于自己的感情與信念。Like all artists, these rock musicians mirror feelings and beliefs that help us see and form our own.我們以什么來回報他們呢？當然是掌聲和贊美。What do we give them in return? Applause and praise, of course.在1972年的一次全國民意測驗中，10的男高中生和30以上的女高中生都說他們最崇拜的人是超級搖滾歌星。In one 1972, national opinion poll, more than 10 percent of the high school boys and 20 percent of the girls said their hero was a rock superstar.此外我們給他們金錢， 商業雜志福布斯認為，“當今成為百萬富翁的捷徑是當搖滾歌星。”We