【搬运译】Pitchfork评Car Seat Headrest 2016年单曲"Fill in the Blank"

搬运自：网易云音乐专栏【Music Online Zine Courier】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整）

翻译：豆目豆科

Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest majored in English as an undergrad: he must understand that the first line of any work is meant to set the tone, introduce the narrative, hook the audience. That said, the opening words of Teens of Denial are the ultimate introduction to an artist who is intimately known to longtime fans and a total mystery to recent ones. “What’s up guys?” asks an anonymous female voice. “You are now listening to… Car Seat Headrest!” she announces, stumbling on the band’s name as if conferring with notes. When the curtain rises and “Fill in the Blank” kicks off, it becomes obvious from both the expository statement and the subsequent subject matter that the track is Teens of Denial’s thesis.

Car Seat Headrest的Will Toledo在本科主修的是文学——那他一定明白，任何作品的第一句话都是为了定下基调，引入叙述，吸引读者阅读兴趣。也正因如此，《Teens of Denial》的开场曲就是对一位艺术家一生的终极介绍，对于长期的老粉丝来说是再亲切不过，而对那些新听众来说则充满了神秘。“What’s up guys?”一个陌生的女声问着，随后她便宣布道“You are now listening to… Car Seat Headrest!”磕磕绊绊地说出了乐队的名字，仿佛是在和接下来的第一个音符商讨谁先出场。当帷幕拉开，“Fill in the Blank”开始了它的表演，从说明性的叙事和随后引入的主题句中可以明显看出，这首曲子正是《Teens of Denial》的论点所在。

Toledo’s first lines cut straight to the heart of the matter: his frustration with himself and the world around him. You can practically hear an apathetic eye roll in his voice as he dryly explains, “If I were split in two I would just take my own fists/ So I could beat up the rest of me.” Others tell him he has “no right to be depressed,” that he manifests his own unhappiness with unjustified world-weariness. After yelping his way through a full cycle of resistance, realization, and rejection, Toledo howls out “I’ve got a right to be depressed!” amid a rush of driving guitars and banging percussion. You might not believe in yourself by the end of “Fill in the Blank,” but you will certainly believe in Car Seat Headrest.

Toledo脱口而出的第一句歌词就直指问题的核心：他对自己和周围世界产生的挫败感。当他用干瘪的语句解释道：“If I were split in two I would just take my own fists/ So I could beat up the rest of me.”时，你几乎可以透过他声音与他冷漠至极的双眸相对。有人告诉他，他“no right to be depressed”，他却偏用毫无道理可言的厌世情绪来宣泄自己的不悦。在历经抵抗、实现和拒绝的循环嘶吼之后，Toledo又在一阵急促的吉他和节拍声中呐喊道：“I’ve got a right to be depressed!”。在“Fill in the Blank”的尾声，你可能仍不能做到相信自己，但你一定会开始信仰Car Seat Headrest。