四十年前(1968)的十一月,
The Beatles發行了被俗稱為白碟(
The White Album)的同名專輯. 在經紀人布萊恩(
Brian Epstien)死後,白碟是
Beatles團員首次擁有全權掌握的作品. 如果要扯到保羅(
Paul McCartney)在這段時間在
Beatles工作上的控制,又會是另一個很長的故事; 所以現在暫且不提
Beatles業務上的問題,白碟在音樂上的成就, 長達九十分鐘的雙碟內容就足以說明之. 生長於數位時代的我們可別忘了,1968年還是在使用唱盤的年代,兩張唱盤所組成的一張專輯,價錢當然也是要比一片裝來的貴,如果不是
Beatles,唱片公司哪裡敢冒這種專輯可能落得乏人問津的風險.
Beatles已經沒有在巡迴演出,多了一層神秘感所推出的白碟當然大賣,但隨之也出現了很多
陰謀論(其中最知名的當然就是保羅已經死掉的傳聞,據說將白碟的"
Revolution 9" 倒轉過來會聽到"Turn me on , dead man"的隱藏訊息).
再一次,我因我的年齡而感到羞愧與懊悔.初聽白碟的我只是個九零年代的十來歲小鬼,除了讚嘆之外也不懂錄音過程細節之奧秘,哪裡知道在白碟錄音過程中不但同時使用了
Abbey Road錄音室的全部三間錄音室,製作人
George Martin還要趕場同時幫團員們各自的作品錄音呢！白碟也許是以
Beatles的名義發行,但專輯事實上是收錄了團員們各自獨立的作品,作者有歌曲的主控權,其它人只是每首歌的伴奏; 最明顯的例子就是保羅對"
Back In The U.S.S.R."的各項樂器聲音有自己的標準和形象,錄到最後林哥(
Ringo Starr)不爽走人,保羅只好自己將鼓給錄好.還有被視為喬治(
George Harrison)最佳代表作的"
While My Guitar Gently Weeps"裡的動人吉他獨奏其實是他的好友艾力克克萊普頓(
Eric Clapton)所彈奏.而約翰(
John Lennon)在錄音時總是有小野洋子(
Yoko Ono)在背景當背後靈,不時還會在vocal中參一腳,讓其他團員不太能適應.
錄音的過程不見得如外人所想那樣團員彼此不斷鉤心鬥角,從許多demo中可以聽出他們一起jam時的笑鬧,還有對細節的討論琢磨. 白碟還有好多值得玩味的軼事, 在聽到"
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da",還有約翰玩mono玩到停不了的"
Revolution 9"時總是讓我會心一笑. 多麼希望我也有機會在四十年前的此時抱著剛發行的白碟坐在家中唯一的唱機前,專注的盯著歌詞就這樣聽上一整天!
NPR也特地為
白碟四十周年錄製了節目,裡面談到許多白碟錄音的趣事,讓人有回到68年的感覺呢！
Abbey Road Studio,攝於2008年9月
People living in North America or Europe might find this unbelievable, but today, in Taipei, the sun is still shining like mad and I'm actually wearing shorts! How I wish I could have a white Christmas~ For all my college and long-time friends, no matter where in the world you are right now, I wish you a very happy Christmas!
◎ Yeah Yeah Yeahs posted a new song "All I Want For Christmas" on their MySpace page.
Blur confirmed to NME that they'll be reunited for a Hyde Park show on July 3 ! After the 2002 break, there were numerous rumors about them getting back together or that they're officially breaking up. This is the first time they've talk about an exact date and some more gigs in the UK, it's the moment all the Blur fans has been dreaming of for years. 
It's frustrating ,facing a foreign language that you couldn't completely understand it. But when this language is accompany by the kind of music that can surpasses all the boundries and still somehow moved you, you fall in love with them anyway. This is exactly what happened when I first heard the Japanese band Mr. Children when I was in high school, the tender yet dramatic voice of the singer Sakurai(桜井和寿) was so distinct and the songs were so beautifully composed that I couldn't get them out of my head. You'll be surprised by the details in Mr. Children's songs and, at the same time, deeply touched by the atmosphere they created. The range of the issues Mr. Children disscussed in their songs were very wide, but the magical thing about them is that you don't have to understand the lyrics to know the theme, you can simply feel it! It's a rare kind of quality that you'll be happy to just find one such band in your life time. Mr. Children is about to release their new album Supermarket Fantasy, if you can get your hands on it, please do so.
Abbey Road Studio,攝於2008年9月
◎ 33 is considered old to Chris Martin, thus Coldplay should breakup before being too old.
◎ First listen!! The new record of Paul McCartney as The Fireman via NPR music!!
