【搬运译】Pitchfork评Sufjan Stevens 2019年单曲“With My Whole Heart”

搬运自：微信公众号【评论搬一堆】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整）

翻译：Peter D

审译：Lynn Liu

排版：Spencer C

We live in particularly trying times for optimism, but here is Sufjan Stevens, shaking things up and teaching us to love again. “With My Whole Heart” is his self-described attempt to “write an upbeat and sincere love song without conflict, anxiety, or self-deprecation.” Coming from a guy whose every passing interest—U.S. state history, Tonya Harding, fucking Christmastime—seems to result in teary-eyed contemplation, it’s a noble pursuit. Inevitably, he almost falls apart less than two minutes in. “I confess the world’s a mess,” he admits softly, “but I will always love you.” You can almost sense him gazing out the window wistfully before remembering the task at hand.

如今我们生活在一个这样对于乐观主义者来说格外艰难的时代，但幸好我们有Sufjan Stevens，他振奋着人心，教我们如何重新去爱。根据他自己的描述，用“With My Whole Heart（我的全心全意）”是他不去考虑矛盾，焦虑和自我贬低的情况下，写出这样一首“积极而真诚的讲述爱的歌曲”的尝试。鉴于他此前的兴趣———美国各州的历史（译者注：Sufjan Stevens曾经声称有给50个州各创作一张专辑的计划）、Tonya Harding（译者注：一位神仙丑闻的美国花样滑冰运动员）、圣诞节——最终都让我们泪眼婆娑着陷入沉思，这句话从这样一个人嘴里说出来，实在是称得上很崇高的追求了，结果还不到两分钟他就不可避免的崩溃了， “I confess the world’s a mess,”（我坦白这世界的确一团糟），她轻声承认， “but I will always love you.” （但我永远爱你），你几乎可以感受到，他在回想起手头任务前，凝视着窗外惆怅的样子。

Even more surprising than the lyrical shift, however, is the music: five minutes of unabashed and (relatively) unadorned inspirational soft rock. On 2010’s The Age of Adz, Stevens embellished these types of simple pop melodies with queasy, complex arrangements that made it sound like the songs were spontaneously combusting beneath a heap of sputtering machinery. Now, he lays it bare, daring you to hold eye contact. There are rolling toms, glittery keys, call-and-response choruses, and a legit guitar solo to close things out. Love is a familiar subject, he reminds us, but it can also be radiant.

比起歌词上的转变，更让人惊讶的是音乐上的变化：整整五分钟毫不羞涩（相对来说）毫无修饰而鼓舞人心的轻摇滚，在他2010年的专辑《The Age of Adz》中，Stevens用有点让人难以接受且非常复杂的编曲来装饰这些简单的流行旋律，听起来简直像是这些歌正在一大堆噼里啪啦的机器下面自燃。而现在，他把一切都赤裸裸的展现出来，看你感不敢去直视。歌曲中有往复的汤姆鼓节拍，华丽的键盘，回应式的和声，并用一段中规中矩的吉他独奏结束，它提醒我们，爱是个很熟悉的主题，但它也可以光芒四射。

Packaged with the similarly glowing “Love Yourself,” “With My Whole Heart” continues Stevens’ method of post-Carrie & Lowell transmissions: conceptual, out-of-the-blue, and released for a good cause. These new tracks arrive in anticipation of Pride Month and the sales benefit charities for LGBTQ+ and homeless youth. In this context, the positive message feels especially close to his heart. Along with the new songs, Stevens shared a 1996 demo of “Love Yourself” that’s shorter, starker, and less certain of its message. Like a lot of his work from this early period, it feels fragmented and vulnerable and alone: a small thought whispered into a quiet room. Here, he gives it a community.

与“With My Whole Heart”一同发行的还有同样充满热情的“Love Yourself”。“With My Whole Heart”延续着Stevens在后《Carrie ＆ Lowell》（译者注：Sufjan上一张录音室专辑）时期的发行方式：概念性，无预警，并且都出于某种善意的缘由。这几首新歌是在对Pride Month（LGBT骄傲月）的期待中发行的，歌曲的收入也都会捐赠给帮助LGBTQ+群体和无家可归的青年们的慈善机构。与新歌一起发行的还有一首1996年的“Love Yourself”样曲，这首曲子更短，更简陋，也更难以捉摸。就如同他许多同时期的早期作品一样，它让人感到破碎，脆弱和孤独，像一个小小的想法悄悄溜进一个安静的空间。而在这里，Sufjan给予了它归属之地。