Is the World Going Gaga for Lady Gaga? “嘉嘉女神”還是“雷帝嘎嘎”?

　　要介紹Lady Gaga,可真是件苦差。即使只是名字,也很難找到一個非常精確的翻譯,因為對于她,人們的態度向來分明,一是認為她時尚前衛、歌舞了得,是個“女神”“女王”;另一則稱其衣著、行為怪異,實屬“雷帝”“雷母”。

　　不過,當搜集了越來越多的資料后,卻發現其實許多人對Lady Gaga存在一定的誤讀。例如,認為她出身不好,以致衣著古怪隨便;她音樂素質低,只能靠奇裝異服吸引眼球。但其實,Lady Gaga出生于紐約富裕家庭,從小讀的都是費用昂貴的貴族學校,而且,她天資過人,4歲無師自通學會鋼琴,13歲開始作曲和演出,17歲被紐約大學音樂系提前錄取,20歲便簽約為Britney Spears等紅星寫歌。

　　一邊打扮前衛,演出大膽,一邊又橫掃MTV等各大頒獎典禮,Lady Gaga的出現似乎就是要讓這個樂壇不得安寧。有人預言她將是麥當娜的接班人,也有人認為她不過是曇花一現。到底我們該用偶像還是“嘔”像來解讀這位新星?或者,這位叛逆“舞后”要的就是我們的這種不知所措。

　　Costumes under Discussion現代“雷母”?

　　Hostess: Lady Gaga, of course, is known for these crazy 1) outfits. I think a couple weeks ago we were talking about how she showed up with a [an] 2) oxygen mask on her face. Take a look at this “bad boy.” Is it a 3) shawl? Is it a dress? What is going on there? It is 4) Kermit the Frog…stapled all over it. You have to give it to her, though. She knows how to make headlines…

　　Host: Yeah.

　　Hostess:…and I’m sure people are looking’ at this wondering what the heck’s goin’ on.

　　Host: At least she didn’t cover her poker face. I…I like her! I think she’s funny.

　　Hostess: She is funny. Yeah.

　　Host: She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s got a good sense of humor, and who else do you know dresses up like Kermit the Frog? We should try it one night.

　　Hostess: Maybe for my Christ ...my Halloween costume.

　　Host: Just don’t cover your po-po-ker face, yo-yo-po-ker face.

　　女主持:Lady Gaga,當然啦,就是因這些奇裝異服而廣為人知的。我想幾周前我們還在談論她怎么臉上戴著個氧氣罩上街呢。看看這副“壞小子”形象。那是件披肩么?是件上衣?那是怎么回事。那是青蛙柯密特爬得滿身都是了。但你不得不服了她。她懂得如何上頭條……

　　男主持:對。

　　女主持:……我相信大家看到這狀況一定想知道到底是在搞什么鬼。

　　男主持:至少她不會掩飾自己的撲克臉。我……我喜歡她!我覺得她很有趣。

　　女主持:她有趣。對。

　　男主持:她沒太在意她自己。她很有幽默感,而且你認識的人中誰還會穿成個青蛙柯密特那樣呢?我們應該找個晚上試一試。

　　女主持:或者作為我的圣……我的萬圣節服裝。

　　男主持:就是別掩飾你的撲—撲—克臉,你—你的撲—克臉。

　　Recipe for Musical Success 音樂女王!

　　5)Infectious melodies, the biggest debut album of the year and hit singles including one of the best-selling digital songs of all time,…the 23 year-old New Yorker has risen to global fame in barely a year, her “eccentric” outfits defining an image.

　　Interviewer: You’ve achieved a massive amount of fame in a short period of time, so how has it all been for you?

　　Gaga: It’s been life-changing, but very exciting for my music, and as a song-writer it’s been a long time coming. I spent two and a half years writing my album, and it’s my greatest hits.

　　Interviewer: “Just Dance,” “Poker-face”—huge hits; what do you think is the reason why they’ve become so big?

　　Gaga: I guess I seem to have 6) struck a nerve. I think that my music as well as my performance art offers a sense of 7) escapism. And I think that, especially in America—I can’t speak for the rest of the world—but especially in America, there was a real need for someone to tell a story.

　　Interviewer: You’re also a song-writer, you write your own stuff, so how does that creative process take place?

　　Gaga: In all sorts of ways. Inspiration comes to me all day long every day, sometimes, when I’m falling asleep, I have these visions. But it’s not just music—it’s music, it’s the clothing, it’s the stage performance.

　　Interviewer: Do you think pop music at all has gotten too commercial?

　　Gaga: Not if I’m around.

　　Interviewer: Have there been any downsides to fame?

　　Gaga: No. There are no downsides. I, for myself, am surrounded by very creative and wonderful people, and I’ve always been taught, and it’s funny, because 8) Grace Jones said this to me when I met her—I washed her feet—and I looked up at her, and she said, “No matter what you do in your life, don’t you ever let anybody take your creative people away from you.” And what my creative friends always remind me of is…they say, “Only value the opinion of those that you respect, and anyone that you don’t respect, pay no mind to their opinion about you or anything else.” And that’s how I live my life. If I worried about everything that everyone said, I would not be a good artist. But when somebody that I respect sends me a message via someone I work with and says, “Tell Gaga I loved this. Maybe she should try this,” then I listen.

　　充滿感染力的旋律,年度最優秀的處女大碟,多首大熱單曲,其中一首還是當今銷量最高的數碼歌之一……這位23歲的紐約人在短短一年便名噪全球,其“古怪”衣著為其樹立起獨特的形象。

　　記者:你在短短的時間內便獲得了相當高的知名度,那這一切對你來說意味著什么呢?

　　Gaga:意味著翻天覆地的改變,但對我的音樂來說非常讓人振奮。作為一個作曲人,這經歷了漫長的等待。我花了兩年半來寫自己的唱片,里面收錄的都是我最好的熱門歌曲。

　　記者:《只管跳》和《撲克臉》都是超級熱門歌,你覺得為什么它們會這么受歡迎呢?

　　Gaga:我想是我可能唱出了大家的心聲。我認為我的音樂以及我的表演展示了一種逃離現實的感覺。我認為,特別是在美國——我可不能替世界上別的地方的人說話——但是,特別是在美國,特別需要有人代述心聲。

　　記者:你也是個作曲人,你寫自己喜歡的曲子,這個創造性的過程是怎么產生的呢?

　　Gaga:以各種各樣的方式產生。每天,靈感整天都會浮現,有時候,當我正要入睡時,我就有這些幻像。但那不止是音樂。有音樂,有服裝,還有舞臺表演。

　　記者:你覺得流行音樂已經變得太商業化了嗎?

　　Gaga:我在就不會。

　　記者:名聲給你帶來什么負面影響了嗎?

　　Gaga:沒有。沒有負面影響,對我自己而言,我身邊有許多極有創意、非常了不起的人,而且我一直受到別人啟迪,很有趣,因為格蕾斯·瓊斯在我碰到她的時候跟我說——那時我給她洗腳,我抬頭看著她,她說:“在你的人生中,無論做什么,都絕不要讓別人把你身邊富創意的人搶走。”而我那些極富創意的朋友總是提醒我說:“只要重視那些你尊敬的人的意見就好了,而那些你不尊敬的人,不要理會他們對你或者對其他事情的意見。”那就是我生活的方式。要是我在意每個人說的話,我就不會成為出色的藝人。但是要是那些我尊敬的人通過我的工作伙伴給我傳話說:“告訴Gaga我喜愛這個。或者她應該試試這個。”那我就會聽。

　　Speech on Gay Rights 自由女神!

　　I have seen and witnessed so many things over the past two years, and I can say with such certainty that this is the single most important moment of my career. I am humbled to stand before all of you here today. I know that some of you have been fighting and doing 9)advocacy work that stems all the way back to the 10)Stonewall riots, and I salute you.

　　I am also inspired by the masses of all the young people here today. The younger generation—my generation—we are the ones coming up in the world, and we must continue to push this movement forward and close the gap. We must demand full equality for all. They say that this country is free and they say that this country is equal, but it is not equal if it’s “sometimes.” Obama, I know that you’re listening.

　　Are you listening?!

　　We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality. We need change now. We demand actions now.

　　在過去的兩年多,我已經親眼見證了很多事情,而我可以非常肯定地說這是我職業生涯中最為重要的一個時刻。今天站在大家面前,我深感謙卑。我知道你們其中一些人一直努力爭取,做著從“石墻酒吧騷亂”時候就開始的倡導工作。我向你們致敬。

　　今天我也從這里所有為數眾多的年輕人中得到靈感。年輕一代——我的一代——我們正是走進世界舞臺的人,我們必須繼續推動這項運動,消除隔膜。我們必須為所有人爭取平等。他們說美國是個自由國家,他們說美國是個平等的國家,但如果它指的只是“有時候”,那它并不是真正的平等。奧巴馬,我知道你有在聽。

　　你有在聽嗎?!

　　我們會繼續敦促你和你的政府將你的承諾變成現實。我們現在就需要改變。我們現在就需要行動。