4 目標不改追求依舊(doc)
4. Still Searching What It Is Looking For In 1976, 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen Jr. placed an ad on the bulletin board of Dublin, Ireland’s Mount Temple High School looking for musicians to form a band. Six or seven students came to his house to audition, but a few in particular stood out. One was Dave Evans, whose guitar-playing skills seemed well beyond his years. Another was Adam Clayton, who looked the part of a rock and roller, with his bushy hair and caftan1 coat, bass guitar, and amp2. Then Paul Hewson arrived, and though he could neither play guitar nor sing, this “ charismatic3 character” was let into the band anyway.“ I was in charge for the first five minutes,” Mullen told Time magazine. “ But as soon as Bono got there, I was out of a job." None of the four teenagers realized that out of that first meeting in Mullen’s cramped4 kitchen they would form one of the most influential bands of the last 20 years. 　　But the members of this ragtag5 group were still in need of a name. A friend suggested U2 because there were so many items with that name, including the spy plane, the submarine, a battery, and the obvious references to “ you, too” and “ you two.” By 1978, Paul Hewson had been rechristened6 “ Bono Vox” by a friend,in Latin for “ good voice.” That same year, the band also released its first EP, titled U2:3. It was a local hit, topping the charts, but the group’s success did not translate to the United Kingdom in general. In 1980, the band signed with Island Records, sealing a deal that allowed a great deal of creative control. Its first Island release, Boy, was an album of undeniable quality and was full of an infectious7 youthful passion. In December of 1980, U2 embarked on a small, successful East Coast tour of America. 　　It was with the release of 1983’s War that the band found its true calling. War was U2’s strongest album to date, and its success and the band’s growing popularity allowed it to renegotiate8 its contract with Island, effectively giving it complete ownership of all its songs and “ making its members very wealthy men” . 　　U2’s next studio album, 1984’s Unforgettable Fire, was a less straightforward effort. The spring tour in 1985 saw U2 selling out arenas across America, prompting Rolling Stone to dub them “ The Band of the ’80s,” concluding that “ for a growing number of rock and roll fans, U2 has become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters.” 　　But the group’s record sales still lagged behind the power and popularity of its live performances, and U2 had yet to achieve a No.1 album or single in the United States. With the release of The Joshua Tree in 1987, U2 finally arrived. The album entered the U.K. charts at No.1 and became the fastest-selling album in U.K. history at that time. Before long, The Joshua Tree (the name was inspired by the giant desert tree the group posed in front of for the album cover) reached the top of the U.S. charts -- and stayed there for nine weeks. “ With or Without You” and “ I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” became No.1 pop singles, and suddenly,U2 had the commercial success that had previously eluded9 it. 　　But whatever doubts fans and critics may have had that U2 had gone mainstream, or had grown too confident, were erased with the release of 1991’s Achtung Baby. Then came the 10-song album Zooropa. 　　U2 took a long break after the conclusion of the Zooropa tour, its first in 14 years. 　　In another promotional coup, U2 took to the rooftops of Dublin to film live clips of two new songs in October. Ignoring inclement10 weather, 4,000 fans and onlookers braved the wind and rain to glimpse the quartet performing “ Elevation” and “ Beautiful Day,” the new record’s first single. “ Beautiful Day” debuted at No.1 on the British charts,a feat it repeated in five other countries--confirming that U2 was still a viable commercial, as well as artistic, force. 目標不改，追求依舊 1976年，14歲的鼓手小拉里·馬勒在愛爾蘭都柏林坦普爾山中學的公告牌上登了一則 廣告，征尋樂手加盟一支樂隊。六七個學生到他家進行了試唱，有幾個較為突出。一個 是戴維·伊文斯，他的吉他彈奏技巧似乎超越了其年齡。另一位是亞當·克萊頓，濃密的 頭發(fā)，著土耳其長袍，帶著低音吉他和擴音器，儼然一副搖滾樂手的打扮。接著來了個 保羅·休森，雖然他既不能彈吉他也不會唱歌，但不管怎樣，這個“魅力十足的人物”也被 招了進來。“頭五分鐘我還說了算，”馬勒對《時代》雜志稱。“但波諾一到，我就失業(yè)了。 ”四名少年誰也沒想到，在馬勒家狹窄的廚房里的第一次碰面后，他們會組成最近20年來 最具影響力的樂隊之一。 　　這支雜牌軍尚需一個稱號。一個朋友建議叫U2，因為帶這個名字的東西太多了，包 括間諜機、潛水艇、電池以及顯而易見的同音詞“你也”或“你倆”。1978年，保羅·休森被 一個朋友重新取名為“波諾·沃克斯”，在拉丁文中的意思是“好嗓子”。同年樂隊還發(fā)行了 第一張專輯，名為《U2：3》。在當?shù)匾鹆宿Z動，高居排行榜之首，但總體而言，卻未波 及英國。1980年，樂隊和島國唱片公司簽約，達成的協(xié)議賦予組合很大的創(chuàng)作空間。他 們在島國唱片公司發(fā)行的第一張唱片《男孩》具有無懈可擊的質(zhì)量，充滿具有感染力的青 春激情。1980年12月，U2在美國東海岸進行了一次小規(guī)模的成功的巡回演出。 　　1983年《戰(zhàn)爭》面世，樂隊才具有了真正的使命感?！稇?zhàn)爭》是U2迄今為止最具沖擊力 的唱片。它的成功和樂隊與日俱增的知名度使其能重新和島國唱片公司再行商討合同， 有效地令樂隊掌握了所有歌曲的完全擁有權(quán)，且“讓其成員都做了富翁”。 　　U2下一張在錄音棚制作的專輯是1984年的《難忘的火焰》，直率的風格稍有收斂。19 85年U2在全美的春季巡演場場爆滿，竟使得“滾石”也稱他們?yōu)椤?0年代的樂隊”，他們斷 言“就日益壯大的搖滾歌迷而言，U2已經(jīng)變成一支最有分量的樂隊，甚至也許是惟一重要 的樂隊?！?　　但樂隊的唱片銷售紀錄依然滯后其現(xiàn)場演出的震撼力和受歡迎程度。U2的專輯或單 曲在美國還沒得過排行榜第一名。1987年推出《約書亞樹》后，U2終于如愿以償。專輯不 僅打入英國排行榜之首，并成了當時英國歷史上銷售最快的唱片。此后不久，《約書亞樹 》（該名源于沙漠中的一棵大樹，樂隊在樹前拍了專輯的封面照）升至美國排行榜頂端， 此地位保持了九周的時間?！队心銢]你》和《我未找到我尋找的東西》成為流行單曲的冠軍 。U2突然獲得了從前一直未得到的商業(yè)成功。 　　U2是否已成為主流樂隊，它是否過于自信，無論歌迷或評論家的疑惑如何，1991年 《阿什堂寶貝》的發(fā)行令一切疑慮煙消云散。接下來是一盤10支曲目的專輯《祖羅帕》。 　　結(jié)束了《祖羅帕》的巡回演出，U2在14年中第一次休了一段長假。 　　在另一次宣傳行動中，在10月U2走上都柏林的屋頂拍攝兩首新歌的現(xiàn)場鏡頭。不顧 寒冷的天氣，4000余名歌迷和觀眾頂著風雨，目睹了四人組合演唱《拯救》和新專輯的首 支歌曲《好天氣》?！逗锰鞖狻穮s首次在英國排行榜上名列冠軍，在另外五國也重復了同樣 的佳績，從而確認了U2在商業(yè)和藝術上依舊是一支能獨立生存發(fā)展的力量。 1.caftan[5κ“φτΕν]n.土耳其長袍 2.amp[“μπ]n.[美俚]高保真度接收機的放大器 3.charismatic[((((((((((((]adj.有魅力的 4.cramped[κρ“μπ]adj.狹窄的，受限制的 5.ragtag[5ρ“⊥τ“⊥]adj.混雜的 6rechristen[5ρι:5κριστν ]vt.給…起新名 7.infectious[ιν5φεκΦΕσ]adj.有感染力的 8.renegotiate[5ρι:νι5⊥ΕυΦι:7ειτ]vt.通過重新談判解決 9.elude[ι5λφυ:δ]vt.避開，(機敏地)逃避 10.inclement[ιν5κλεμΕντ]adj.狂風暴雨的，嚴寒的
4 目標不改追求依舊(doc)