【搬运】【译】Billboard杂志评Lady Gaga 2013年专辑《ARTPOP》+15首单曲
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：油条糖饼
校正：Julie.L/Ryan-Chopin
作者：Jason Lipshutz
原文发布时间：2013.11.5
4星
While most mainstream musicians care deeply about both the details of their music and the way that music is presented to the world, Lady Gaga is the hardest-working artist in pop music because she makes absolute certain that every inch of her craft evolves and innovates. Her first major hit, "Just Dance," is a cleverly constructed account of being deliriously drunk but stringing together a solid evening; because it posed as an enduring electro-pop jam, that cleverness was bestowed to a huge audience. Since then, Gaga has done everything in her power to turn pop music into a grounds for discovery that goes beyond face value, from bold fashion selections to sprawling live set-ups to artiste collaborations to cultural engagements that go well beyond the transition of a verse into a chorus. When Gaga wanted to herald a social movement, she focused the first single on her pivotal "Born This Way" on LGBTQ rights; when she wanted to clue the unaware in on the magic of Jeff Koons, she hired the world-class artist to create a nude replica of her "Fame" persona for her latest album cover. Sure, there are times when the simple pleasure of a verse and a chorus is enough to satisfy, but Gaga has always demanded more -- and when she has found success, she has upheld achievements that no other pop artist has sniffed.
大多数主流音乐家都非常关注音乐的细节和向世界呈现音乐的方式，而Lady Gaga可谓是流行音乐圈工作最努力的艺术家，因为她坚信自己的作品在不断进化和创新。她的第一首大热单曲“Just Dance”刻画出她喝得酩酊大醉，却度过了一个美好的夜晚的场景，而其中那经久不衰的电子音乐素材，为她吸引了大量听众。
从那以后，Gaga尽其所能将流行音乐变成一个发现更深内涵的平台，从大胆的时尚造型到大量的现场演出，到与艺术家的合作，再到参与文化活动，她自身也经历了非常大的转变。当Gaga想要宣传一场社会运动时，她将单曲“生来如此”(Born This Way)的眼光聚焦于LGBTQ群体的权益；当她想要听众知晓Jeff Koons的魔力时，她聘请了这位世界级的艺术家为她的最新专辑创作了能代表她“Fame（名声）”的封面。当然，很多时候一段简单的歌词和副歌就足以满足听众，但Gaga总是不满足于此——尽管她成就万千，甚至已能傲视群雄。
"ARTPOP," the follow-up to "Born This Way," naturally abides by this far-reaching ambition and looks to re-think the "pop album" as an entity, even more than Lady Gaga's last album did. It's not surprising that "ARTPOP" will be packaged with an interactive app that blends music, art, fashion and technology together, since that is precisely what "ARTPOP" the album tries to actualize; Gaga is grasping more cultural trinkets than ever before, and wants to synthesize them into one mind-blowing, 15-song statement. When Gaga balances these skyward designs with dynamic songwriting -- when she successfully mixes the 'art' with the 'pop,' if you will -- the results are often euphoric. "Dope" and "Gypsy" are compelling accounts of personal hell and heaven on the back half of the album, and when the midway run of the seductive "Sex Dreams," boisterous "Jewels n' drugs," effervescent "MANiCURE" and slithering "Do What U Want" takes hold, it's a long-player experience unlike anything a pop fan will hear this year. Of course, some of the more convoluted tracks sputter out before Gaga can carry her vision through, but even the weakest moments on "ARTPOP" are so carefully built and ardently imagined that one cannot help but admire the effort.
Coherently channeling R&B, techno, disco and rock music as a pop artist while discussing Sex, drugs, lust, God, fame and creativity, Lady Gaga has offered fans her most sonically and lyrically diverse album to date. "ARTPOP" is imperfect, but so is its creator. It is a complicated album that should be applauded (pun intended) for inspiring interpretation, as well as telling fans that it's also okay to just dance.
Lady Gaga的“想做什么就做什么”(Do What U Want)有着非常大的突破：她对与R. Kelly合作期望很高，作为“生来如此”(Born This Way)的下一张专辑，它自然而然地延续了这一高远的野心，并将这张专辑重新看作一个整体，其完整度甚至超过了Lady Gaga的上一张专辑。
《ARTPOP》将被包装成一个“应用程序”，将音乐、艺术、时尚和科技融合在一起，这完全在我们的意料之中，因为这正是此专辑试图实现的目标;Gaga现在更注重文化艺术的新点子，并且想把这些新点子聚合成一个由15首歌组成且振奋人心的宣言。
当Gaga用充满活力的词曲创作来平衡这些“天马行空”的创意时——也许你会发现，她成功地将“艺术”与“流行”相结合，而且结果往往是令人愉悦的。“Dope”和“Gypsy”是专辑后半部分中最引人注目、且自身包含着“天使”与“地狱”两面的单曲。当专辑中部诱人的“Sex Dreams”、毒性剧烈的“Jewels n' drugs”、充满气泡感的"MANiCURE"和曲调婉转的"Do What U Want"一一呈现在听众眼前时，听众往往会有与众不同的流行音乐视听体验。当然，有些更复杂的歌曲在Gaga还没来得及把她的愿景展现出来的时候就被迫搁置了，但是即使是《ARTPOP》中最微不足道的部分也是经过精心制作的，并且饱含了丰富的想象力，其中凝聚的付出令人赞叹。
Lady Gaga将R&B、techno、迪斯科和摇滚音乐这一系列独立的流行音乐元素进行融合与贯通，在曲中讨论性、毒品、欲望、上帝、名声和创造力的同时，她为歌迷们献上了迄今为止最具音色和歌词多样性的专辑。《ARTPOP》并不完美，它的创作者亦如此。这是一张复杂的专辑，应该得到“applause（掌声）”，因其激励人心的音乐想法得以被诠释，以及她渴望想让歌迷相信“即便只是跳舞也没什么大不了”。
《ARTPOP》的哪些歌曲是我们最喜欢的呢?请看我们对Lady Gaga最新专辑单曲的逐一解读。
1 Aura
在以鼓舞人心的“嫁给黑夜”(Marry the Night)拉开“生来如此”(Born This Way)的序幕两年后，Gaga在异国情调的面纱下开始了《ARTPOP》的序幕，她将穆斯林文化与她自身的生活方式联系起来。“迷一样的歌星很是可笑，她穿罩袍是为了时尚／不是为了陈述思想，只是激情的火花，”Gaga通过这首歌奠定了《ARTPOP》作为一张有想法和充满快频率电子乐段的专辑的基调。
2 Venus
“维纳斯”融合了占星术、罗马神话和性，是Gaga完全独立创作的第一首歌曲，在充满喧闹的副歌前充分融合运用了迪斯科节奏。因为《ARTPOP》计划中的第二首单曲本是“想做什么就做什么”(Do What You Want)，“维纳斯”继承了前一首单曲中的双重听感（“你已经飞离这个世界／超越星系与时空！”Gaga在歌中呐喊到），这一点在充满星际质感的结尾部分格外突出。从这里我们依然可以看出Gaga对这一概念的热情，她也尽其所能地贯彻这一概念。
3 G.U.Y
3. G.U.Y. - After blasting off to sensual heaven on "Venus," Gaga returns to Earth for "G.U.Y." (which stands for 'Girl Under You,') a shuddering dance siren that makes the distinction between gender equality and willful Sexual submission. Zedd's hornet's nest of production swarms Gaga's provocative commands, and the sucker-punch of the hook hammers the message home to create the first true "ARTPOP" standout.
在《维纳斯》(Venus)中，lady Gaga在感官享受的天堂里大放异彩。之后，Gaga又回到了地球表面，呈现了“G.U.Y”(全称是”girl under you”“你下面的女孩”)。舞池中的歌声，将性别平等与自愿的性屈服区分开来。Zedd的制作里充斥着Gaga充满挑衅意味的命令口吻，hook部分的强烈节奏着意使听众印象深刻，从而造就了第一个真正具有《ARTPOP》风格的代表。
4 Sex Dreams
4. Sex Dreams - And here's where the Sexuality and synth-pop pleasures of "ARTPOP" fully bloom: "Sex Dreams," in which Gaga balances a disintegrating relationship and a lustful fantasy, similarly juggles a pastel-colored 80's aesthetic and R-rated breakdown of unspoken desire. At the "I can't believe I'm telling you this…" conclusion, Gaga sounds loose and light-hearted, letting her audience twirl around on the dance floor.
在《ARTPOP》中，性和合成器音乐的乐趣在“性梦”(Sex Dreams)中得到了充分的展现。Gaga在一段支离破碎的关系和一种色欲的幻想之间实现了平衡，类似的摇摆不定的风格在80年代充满柔和美学和限制级的隐晦欲望的音乐风格中也较为常见。在“我简直不敢相信我要告诉你…”的收束中，Gaga的声音听起来松弛而轻松，使听众在舞池的氛围里“旋转”。
5 Jewels N' drugs
5. Jewels n' drugs (feat. T.I., Too $hort and Twista) - The transition between the starry-eyed "Sex Dreams" and T.I. thumping his chest at the start of "Jewels n' drugs" is more than a little jarring, and the Gaga-assisted hip-hop summit exists in its own grimy world on "ARTPOP." Kudos to Gaga for refracting her latest tale of fame addiction through the prism of hip-hop, as well as tapping a world-class veteran like Twista to help get the job done.
“性梦”和“珠宝与*品”(Jewels n’drugs)在T.I.强烈一击之间转换，有些许不和谐。Gaga在自己创造的《ARTPOP》世俗时空中也给嘻哈音乐留有了一席之地。lady Gaga通过嘻哈音乐这一“棱镜”折射出她最近的成名经历，同时她还邀请了像Twista这样世界级的制作人来帮助她完成这项工作。
6.MANiCURE
6. MANiCURE - An obvious choice for a future single, the buoyant "MANiCURE" provides everything that a pop fan aching for a new "Pokerface" would want. With a chorus that's grafted onto the listener's brain after a single listen, double-meanings stemming from shouts of "MAN! CURE!" and a colorful arrangement highlighted by a funk guitar breakdown, this ode to superficial perks graces the high ceilings of Gaga's hits.
对于充满未来感的单曲来说，这显然是一个不错的选择，轻快的“修指甲”（"MANiCURE"）提供了流行乐迷想要一首“扑克脸”（Poker Face）二代单曲所需要的一切。在听了一遍之后，听众的脑海里会充斥“MAN! CURE!”的呐喊还有音损朋克吉他为亮点的丰富音色，这首对物质生活的颂歌使Gaga的热门歌曲歌单又增色了不少。
7.Do What You Want
这首与R. Kelly的合作在《ARTPOP》发行前本不打算打单，但在发行后，这首昏暗的synth-n-B音源获得了极大反响，发行计划迅速随之改变。这首歌中最令人惊叹的一点是Gaga的悲叹与Kelly低唱的无缝对接——从充满灵气的开头到歌曲逐渐展开后，收束时Gaga不屈的呐喊,两人已经为他们戏剧性的合作设想出蓝图,并有效地执行它。
8.ARTPOP
8. ARTPOP - "My ARTPOP could mean anything," Gaga sings on the album's title track, while later adding, "Come to me, without your subtext and fantasy." Gaga is an artist that creates for the sake of creation, and this is her manifesto, set over a lurching electro-jazz beast that grows wilder with each passing second.
“你们可以随意解读我的《ARTPOP》，”Gaga在专辑的同名曲中唱道，随后又补充道，“来找我吧，丢下你的潜台词和幻想。”Gaga是一个为了创造而创造的艺术家，这便是她的宣言，它建立在一个横冲直撞的电子爵士猛兽之上，并且变得越来越狂野。
9.Swine
9. Swine - Gaga transports her listeners to an angry corner in her mind on the shrieking industrial number "Swine." The singer sounds physically disgusted as she cuts an "animal" out of her life, and the squealing keyboards concoct a sense of mayhem as she rails against the unnamed pig. "Swine" isn't as accessible or cleverly penned as other "ARTPOP" tracks, yet as far as detours go, this one's fascinating.
Gaga把她的听众带到了她脑海中极为愤怒的一个角落，嘶吼着歌曲“猪”（Swine）。当这位歌手将一只“动物”从她的生活中剔除出去时，她的音色听起来有些令人不适，尖厉的键盘音制造了一种混乱的感觉，因为她在责骂那只无名的猪。“猪”并不像《ARTPOP》中其他单曲那样平易近人，也不如其他单曲写得那么巧妙，但避开这张专辑来说，这首歌很吸引人。
10.Donatella
10. Donatella - Whisking pop fans into the fashion world and squaring her sights on one of the strongest figures in that medium, Gaga turns "Donatella" into an anthem for the outcasts that have a right to feel gorgeous. Unlike "G.U.Y.," Zedd's production work here doesn't quite hypnotize, but like that earlier "ARTPOP" track, Gaga embraces the pointedly playful concept wholeheartedly.
Gaga将流行乐迷带入时尚界，并将目光投向了这一媒介中最强势的人物之一，她将“多纳泰拉”(Donatella)变成了一首歌曲，为那些有资格觉得自己很美却被抛弃的人所奏。与“G.U.Y.”不同的是，Zedd的音乐制作并不那么抓耳，而是更接近《ARTPOP》的同名单曲，Gaga也全心全意地接受了这个幽默的概念。
11.Fashion!
11. Fashion! - Perhaps the most straightforward on "ARTPOP," "Fashion!" is a fist-pumping throwback that is unafraid to play up its campiness and exalt the process of "looking good and feeling fine." An inoffensive partner to "Donatella" on the track list, "Fashion!" once again underlines the suggestion that Gaga's impact on culture extends well beyond the music world.
“时尚!”(Fashion!)是一首会给人一拳重击的复古风格单曲，它不怕突显自己的做作，也不怕夸大“看起来光鲜，感觉也很美妙”的过程。Lady Gaga在其中有意无意地与“多纳泰拉”(Donatella)相邻，再次强调了Gaga对文化的影响远远超出了音乐界。
12 Mary Jane Holland
12. Mary Jane Holland - Peer beyond the weed references and focus on the intensity of whirring beats soundtracking them -- "Mary Jane Holland" finds Gaga dabbling in a sea of squelchy rhythms, which eventually pull back and float over the admission, "I know that Mom and Dad think I'm a mess/But it's all right, because I am rich as piss." Searching for answers in the form of a new identity, Gaga's voice survives just long enough to outlast the EDM storm.
这首单曲在音乐界广受好评，回旋的节奏填满了整首歌曲——在“玛丽·简·霍兰德”（"Mary Jane Holland"）里，Gaga在咯吱咯吱的节奏中漫步,最终慢慢淡出，在自我认可中漂浮，“我知道爸爸妈妈认为我的生活一团糟/但没关系,因为我tmd根本不缺钱”。为了以一种新的身份寻找答案，Gaga将其声线刚好压过了EDM元素的浪潮。
13。Dope
“玛丽·简·霍兰德”在台词中暗示了对爱情的瘾，“我爱你，爱你胜过……我最黑暗的罪恶”，在出色的单曲“*品”（Dope）里，毒品是于Gaga最需要的东西，而不是需要那个可能拯救她生命的男人。这首抒情曲的创作方式让人想起百老汇的表演风格，但在当代流行音乐的外壳下，其电子音乐在打击乐节奏里砰砰跳动。Gaga的声音在这里做了受损处理，效果显著而出色。
14.Gypsy
14. Gypsy - It's okay if you try to resist the chills shooting down your spine during this epic paean to navigating an unknown road and trusting instincts -- just know that it's a lot more fun if you give in and rock out. "I don't want be alone forever… but I can be tonight," Gaga winks in the chorus of this sing-along, which draws from the classic rock palette of her "Born This Way" album and only gets more cocksure as it races toward the end.
在这史诗般的赞歌中，你可以试着去摆脱那让你脊梁骨直打颤的感觉，去走一条未知的路吧，要相信自己的直觉。但如果你能放弃挣扎而投身于此，你可能会感到乐趣无穷。“我不想永远孤独……但我今晚可以，”Gaga在这首歌的副歌中调皮地眨眨眼，使以“生来如此”（Born This Way）经典摇滚风格开始的整张专辑，在走向结尾时变得更加自信。
15.applause
Gaga说她想在演唱会中从头到尾都演奏《ARTPOP》的歌曲，如果是这样的话，其发布的第一首单曲“applause”将会想让人一遍又一遍地听。虽然歌词仍然有点笨重，但当hook部分在top 40的电台上被播放了几十次之后，它变得更加闪亮。Gaga再一次把一个崇高的想法变成了能被大众所广泛接受的音乐。
