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My Little Corner of the World

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

爵士後搖的新紀元

自從Talk Talk和Slint於1991年打開了Post-rock這個一直深鎖的大門, 不知不覺間這種充滿實驗性的音樂已經踏入了第十四個年頭. 這期間我們經歷了Tortoise的精心錘煉, Mogwai的噪音轟炸, Godspeed You! Black Emperor的唯美詩篇, Rachel's的雋永曲調, Sigur Ros的異國風情和很多其他創作單位的長青作品. 可是, 近這幾年來後搖滾樂團們走的路並不太順. 正確來說應該是: 平順的路已經走了很多, 剩下的只是一幅幅未開發的版圖. 作為一個Post-rock的狂熱愛好者, 我對前景仍然充滿無限的期待和渴望. 非常幸運地, 2005年我們等到了以十人浩大樂團編制的挪威組合Jaga Jazzist.

其實早於1994年出道的Jaga Jazzist一直以來並不是以後搖滾樂團的身份自居. 正如他們的團名一樣, Jaga其實是一班玩另類爵士的樂團. 可能為了探索音樂上的其他可能性, 於他們今年的新專輯「What We Must」裡面我們聽到了屬於Post-rock的聲音. 開首曲「All I Know Is Tonight」是一首長達七分四十秒的亢長作品, 而以旋律性論亦是全碟最強的. 特別是一聽到流麗的結他和急速的鼓聲就讓我想起Mogwai和Explosions In The Sky. Jaga與其他典型Post-rock樂團的不同之處在於他們非常善於運用各種樂器. 除了最基本的結他和鼓之外, 我們還可以很輕易地找到單簧管, 小號, 橫笛, 電子琴, 中提琴, 風鈴, 長號, 色士風等等在管絃樂團才會見到的樂器. 這一切都要歸功於他們深厚的爵士樂功底.

不單只是「All I Know Is Tonight」玩得出色, 大碟裡面的其他歌曲都擁有強烈的層次感. 高傲而不冰冷的氣質透過歌曲的音韻緩緩飄出, 連我平時不聽搖滾樂的家人都被他們深深地感染. 剛好排在專輯最中間的「Oslo Skyline」是我最喜歡的一首歌. 此曲的鋪排非常緊湊, 由悠揚的銅鈴聲開始慢慢發展到中段的輕盈笛聲, 而到最後的兩分鐘則以極富有壓迫感的搖滾音樂作為終結. 不知道奧斯陸的天空是否也如曲中所形容的那麼繽紛多姿? 相信小奧可以給我一個答案. 「Swedenborgske Rom」是一首頗具爵士味的曲目. Jaga的團員們還特別在歌曲的開頭和中間加插了幾段人聲和音, 非常有Big Band的澎湃氣氛.

雖然我未有仔細聽過Jaga之前的CD, 不過「What We Must」肯定是我年終的十大之一, 特別是今天之前我還未聽到過我真心喜歡的專輯.

15 Comments:

  • At Wednesday, May 04, 2005 4:17:00 a.m., Blogger BFSH said…

    讀完你的文章決定要找來聽聽!

     
  • At Wednesday, May 04, 2005 10:25:00 a.m., Blogger littleoslo said…

    Today is so sunny but I do feel very gloomy.

    I dunno why but I should show you how the sky here look like. The street outside my home that I would take it as a road to the heaven... oh.. I dunno what I am talking abt. Anyway, I like your writing as usual. You should write for the magazine as a critic. You can make it!!

     
  • At Wednesday, May 04, 2005 5:56:00 p.m., Blogger 快樂牛郎 said…

    承蒙小奧的錯愛. 其實我學識尚淺, 此等拙劣作品實不足以登大雅之堂. 何況我在你的網亦曾說過, 其實在這個商業社會有很多藏龍臥虎之士苦無一展所長的平臺. 相比之下我等實在是微不足道.

     
  • At Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:40:00 a.m., Blogger BFSH said…

    又何必貶低自己的價值呢?
    我同意小奧, 我都覺得讀你的文章是有趣的!

     
  • At Thursday, May 05, 2005 3:07:00 p.m., Blogger littleoslo said…

    I dun feel very happy, my blog is dead. I can't access ... :-(

    I dunno what to do... :-(

    feeling so "alone" and "abandoned" today

     
  • At Thursday, May 05, 2005 3:29:00 p.m., Blogger 快樂牛郎 said…

    是啊, 我一起床就發現小奧私陸的中文部份已經進不去了, 不過英文版還健在. 實在吊詭.

     
  • At Friday, May 06, 2005 2:42:00 p.m., Blogger littleoslo said…

    oh u discovered that i have a horrible eng one hohoho...

    my blog is up again hohoho.

    hey , how are you?

    where are u in canada

     
  • At Friday, May 06, 2005 3:29:00 p.m., Blogger 快樂牛郎 said…

    I am in Vancouver right now. In early August I will move to Toronto to pursue my master degree in Pure Mathematics. You know what? I have just heard that Caribou received his doctorate degree in Mathematics a while back. How come he can do well in both Music and Math but I can't? Envy.

     
  • At Friday, May 06, 2005 10:34:00 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    糟糕
    我不但連音樂的聽的少
    甚至也沒什麼文章可以寫
    最近又比較忙

    努力努力~

     
  • At Saturday, May 07, 2005 3:47:00 a.m., Blogger littleoslo said…

    Pure Mathematics..

    oooops... my mathematics sucks... hohoho. i envy you , u envy him sand who would he envy?

    Vancouver to Toronto... then we are getting closer , just the altanic ocean.

     
  • At Tuesday, May 10, 2005 6:32:00 a.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    這張找來聽了
    真的很棒!!!

     
  • At Thursday, May 12, 2005 10:43:00 a.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi, u study maths? me too!
    what area r u in? it feels like meeting someone really close or something.

     
  • At Thursday, May 12, 2005 12:38:00 p.m., Blogger 快樂牛郎 said…

    Hi lungman! I am interested in Algebra, along the lines of Group Theory, Algebraic Topology, etc. How about you? What do you like?

     
  • At Thursday, May 12, 2005 9:17:00 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    well, i like algebra too. now i'm studying algebraic geometry and local cohomology, but now im thinking of giving up my PHD degree. u know there is a great difference between undergrad and grad. Although algebra is very interesting, there are so many thing we need to learn in order to be professional. There are a bunch of 30 or 40 years old guys in my department. I really dont want to spend all my time to study maths. u know there are so many thing out there. i have been missing all those interesting life. Honestly school life is null and it is hard to find friends....
    anyway i havent decided yet. I still want to study some advance courses b4 i give up. Sorry, i may freak u out, but u know i dont regret i spent all those yrs on studying maths. It is very amazing to learn some areas of maths just like listening good music. I think we will understand what i mean when the time come

     
  • At Sunday, December 13, 2009 9:29:00 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    now I among your readers

     

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