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2008-12-04
[电子书下载]Benjamin Hoff - The Tao Of Pooh
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2008-10-10
Chad的地下活动
在最新的一次某刊连线电话采访中，Paul透露说他和Chad用email来往得比较多。
..原来Chad会上网啊！本次采访全文请关注今年10月号的HIT轻音乐
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2008-09-09
关于Chad的一些老视频！
Sound Track 42 Lovers，当时我就激动了Paul在玩吃豆子？Chad是芒果(蒙古)之王？录制Invers Midas时尝试加入的古怪乐器(其实就是盛装着不同水量的水杯)。Chad手舞足蹈地向乐器操作人员描述想要的曲调效果Chad在创作Spasm of Identity，你可以听到这首歌的基本旋律Chad弹贝司！一起录Spasm of Identity,Paul在穷指挥... -
2008-08-17
Paul Draper 将于9月在官方论坛开展新的Q&A
今年9月7日下午6点（也就是北京时间9.8号凌晨1点左右），Paul将准时等候在他的官方论坛 http://forum.pauldraper.net 上和歌迷聊关于Mansun第二张专辑SIX的一些问题，对SIX的创作过程存在疑问的同学们表错过这个能够让Paul亲自回答你问题的好机会，详细情况请登陆察看 http://www.pauldraper.info/news.php
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2008-07-17
SIX录制期间的Chad访谈
看来到目前为止对于Chad来说我只能进行哀怨的掘土工作 -_-
在惊艳的处女专辑AOTGL之后，你们是怎么想到来做SIX这样一张专辑的？
嗯，从第二张专辑开始我们就想走不同的路子，因为本质上是吉他为主的乐队嘛，所以就绞尽脑汁在吉他技术，效果器和编排上下功夫，所以和AOTGL比起来，它的吉他实验性更强，演奏更加多元化。我们花了5个月时间，录了以往大概三张专辑才能盛下的曲子，也就是30-35首歌的样子，然后从里面再挑。很高兴我们没有人云亦云或者随波逐流，这是一张特立独行的专辑，我们使用了海量的吉他和效果器，我觉得我们的铁饭会喜欢它的。
你们在录制过程中加入了键盘或者其他不同乐器的音效吗？
ATOTGL的时候我们动用了许多宏大的弦乐器，很交响乐的感觉，不过那已经是历史了。我们在做一张截然不同的专辑，所有的声效都是用吉他做出来的。很多人都不相信那些失真的声效是吉他弹出来的。那你们是不是在跟Primal Scream的风格靠近呀？
现在慢慢成型的曲子和最初的不一样了，结构更加松散无序，每首歌都可以分成明显的几个部分，而且有些歌还老长，10到12分不等。和声和主旋律在曲子中所占地位已经没有意义了，它们只不过是歌曲不同部分中的一小块而已。
但是歌曲间的转换仍然没有失去和谐感是吧？
可以说跟ATOGL相比，SIX歌曲间的互动还要流畅，虽然各个曲目间还存有一些小小的时间缝隙，但是它仍然具有很强的连贯性。SIX里面的歌在现场演奏会不会更有难度？
我不觉得。做现场时，同样的歌会显现出不一样的风格。3月份演出时，我们还演奏了新专辑上的三首歌，完了和来看演出的歌迷聊天时，发现那些新东西反而更扎眼，尤其在听过我们以前专辑的人群中受欢迎。这张专辑仍然是非常自我的吗？
歌词部分还是比较严肃和个人化，但是较之“Mavis”反而更加晦涩些。它主要反应了最近一段时间我和Paul的所想所写，所以不像会灯笼那样情景特性化。道家的无为哲学是影响专辑概念的一大因素，某种程度上讲它也影响了专辑的制作态度：不强求任何事，只要顺其自然就好。你不认为歌里所传达的意义会成为倾听者的信条吗？
我不知道。我们就是写自己想写的歌，歌词对我们来说自有它的意义。歌迷倾向于发掘我们一些想法的源头，我觉得有点烦。至于自称专业批评家的傻帽，我懒得搭理。对于这张专辑来说，自娱的精神超越了批评界的评价吧？
没错，自我满意是最重要的，而且希望歌迷能和我们一样从中得到乐趣。做打榜的无脑歌从来不是我们的愿望。
Mansun的MV一直都保持着高度的艺术气质，这样的风格还会一直持续下去吗？
在MV制作里我们总是汲取着不同导演的不同想法，有时候这些想法会展现出令人满意的效果，有时候却平淡无奇，因为想法很艺术不代表拍出来有感觉啊。你只需找到自己最合适的定位。我觉得很多乐队的MV很屎，说什么传递出了多么特别的乐队个性，看一遍你就能发现那不是半年前被我枪毙的MV么？！为什么选择和Howard Devoto合作？
我和Paul是Magazine的大饭，是一个认识Howard的朋友把我们介绍给他。我们试着谈合写歌的事，他用木吉他录了几首小样寄过来，一道的还有Everyone Must Win的歌词，然后我和Paul填了EMW的旋律...在录音室里我们还共同录制了Railings。能和崇拜的偶像合作可不是天天发生的事，但我们很幸运地实现了，这可真够爽的。做过的最糟糕的现场是哪次？
没有特别糟糕的，非要说的话那就是最早给可能10个人都不到做演出的时候吧...那时还没签唱片公司，也不是所谓的专业乐队，初衷纯粹是因为闲得要死。结果乐队做起来发现哇简直太享受了，台下有没有人看演出我才不关心呢。到后来专辑巡演的时候，来看的人有2000-4000不等，但我仍感觉之前门庭冷落的演出并不惨淡。破烂昏暗酒吧里小撮人的闷热躁动同样令人兴奋，这和大型演出完全两码事。一旦被袭击，灰灯笼会怎么做？
他很可能会发散出他的灰色光晕把袭击者吓得屁滚尿流——这是Paul的想法啦，基于他醉心的漫画英雄the Grey Lantern，而且Paul明显也有发散光晕的能力不是吗？灰灯笼还有其他类似的超能力。你觉得你们的歌词会被忽视还是被深度发掘？
无所谓。有些人只是重视旋律带来的感受，并不把歌词的含义看得太重，其他人则试图在歌词上发掘出和旋律一样的深度。有时候他们对歌词的解读和我们的初衷如出一辙，有时却一厢情愿，大相径庭，但仍然说得通。我觉得这样挺好，从歌词里找到自己的答案，并不需要别人来告诉他怎么想，所以说音乐从来都不是主观的嘛。SIX全部完工了以后要修正一段时间吧？
呃，我们有现场要做，还有单曲宣传，然后要集中做下一张EP的非主打，然后专辑，十月巡演。除此外第三张专辑已经开始构思了，要处理那个，一直录到年底。 -
2008-05-25
SIX封面图解1.1升级版 囧 - [研究癖--SIX]
Warning: Best Read after Knowing Rhythms and Lyrics of SIX.
一 专辑名迷解
这张专辑与数字六密切相关，以下是能找到的在专辑中出现过或影响过专辑写作的四个与数字六相关的事物：
1. AA Miline(小熊维尼作者)的书Now We Are Six
2.英国经典剧集The Prisoner里主角名字叫做No. Six
3.Marquis de Sade入狱时被囚禁在第6号监狱
4.Tom Baker, 英国长寿科幻剧Dr. Who最受欢迎的第四任扮演者,曾经做过6年的僧人
二 专辑封面迷解
这个神秘的封面几乎涵盖了专辑所有的曲目以及部分寓意和歌词内容，以下为封面设计图的无责任考证和猜想：
1.左下角的书
题注：根据six封面设计者Max Schindler的说法，原稿出炉时画上都是没有名字的空白书，书脊上的字是后期才PS上去的，由 Paul决定书名，部分书籍作者并不存在或不关联，应该是他自己编的。 因为Paul/Chad对哲学的狂热，他们读了很多这种怪异艰涩的书，其中一些也影响了词作。
从上往下：
《Life as a series of compromises》--- By Graham Langdon
首轨six的歌词便来自于此：You see, my life, it's a series of compromises anyway. It's a sham, and I'm conditioned to accept it all, you see."Graham Langdon这个人网上唯一能查到的是康涅狄格大学一名在校生，建立网站Million Dollar Wiki并因此而身价百倍，不知此人出现在这里是什么意思。
《Who on earth is Tom Baker》--- By Tom Baker
Tom Baker自传，Tom Baker为Mansun的Witness to a Murder叙读了歌词。
《1984》 --- George Orwell
1984是最著名的反乌托邦主义的著作，可以说是一部政治预言，据说其中41项预言已有29项成为了现实。作者乔治奥威尔是著名英国作家。1984也曾被考虑作为专辑的名字。
《120 Days in Sodom》 --- By Marquis de Sade
萨德侯爵的《所多玛120天》，Paul把它写进了单曲Legacy。(Reading novel’s banned by Marquis de Sade/All relationships are emptying and temporary…)
《The Book Of Mormon》
这本书是一位叫Mormon的先知整理出来的，收囊了古代先知的预言和启示. <Book Of Mormon>出现在Cancer歌词中(my book of Mormon/wrapped in Turin/and it seems inferior and jittery…),批评了基督教徒的虚伪和对教义的背叛，并暗示这本书之所以存在只是因为人们需要在绝望中找到精神支柱。
《The Bible Code》 --- By Michael Drosnin
Michael Drosnin是位无信仰者，他在这本诡异的书里阐述了圣经作为预言书的证据，据说按照某种复杂的算法可以把圣经文段中的字母组合成新的有预言作用的短语。事实上这些预言有相当部分也成为了现实，比如拉宾遇刺，肯尼迪遇刺，台湾地震，奥姆真理教毒气事件等等，历史上多位科学家包括牛顿都对此深信不疑，并致力于圣经的解码工作。如此神秘诡谲的书也影响了Cancer的歌词写作，虽然这种主题在现在的无信仰社会已经有些过时…
2.打开的书
这本书里写的段落正是SIX首支单曲Legacy的歌词：Reading novels is banned by the Marquis de Sade/All relationships are emptying and temporary... Life is wearing me thin/I feel so drained/my Legacy/A sea of faces just like me...3.右下角的书
从左到右：
'People Places --- By Richard Rogers
People’s places应该不是书名， Paul曾学过建筑学并一直保持着对它的兴趣，而Richard Rogers是一位英国建筑师，最为熟知的作品是法国蓬皮杜国家艺术和文化中心。这个人也出现在Anti Everything的歌词里("Anti everything/Lives in Richard Rogers' doorways)
The house at Pooh Corner --- By AAMiline
Shotgun的歌词："The simple of thought inherit the earth/Like Winnie the Pooh/ Confucianist rules".
Dianetics --- By L. Ron Hubbard
Diane tics，排除有害印象精神治疗法。作者Ron Hubbard于1954年创建了鼓吹信仰疗法的基督教科学论派(Scientology)，出现在Anti everything中： You convert to scientology/to feel a part of something once again
The Schizoid Man
The Schizoid Man是电视剧The Prisoner里面一集剧目的名字。
Paint it black --- By Geoffrey Giuliano
关于滚石吉他手Brian Jones死因之谜的书，BJ是Chad的偶像，因此这本书也影响了Chad 在Witness to a Murder里的词作。
4.右下角一坐在圆椅的男人
这个人是演员Patrick McGoohan在剧集The Prisoner里的No. Six形象.作为Paul最喜爱的剧集之一，这部电视剧对Paul的影响巨大，你可以发现从封面到曲目都有迹象暗指这部剧集，比如：第六首歌Fall Out与the prisoner最后一集剧目同名。
5.MANSUN字样下的玻璃窗
雕花格子的玻璃窗上这个圆形图案代表了英国钱币中的四分之一便士，它是The Prisoner的象征图案，在SIX的CD盘面上也是这个图案，这部剧集直接影响了第一首歌six的创作。
6.中间戴面具的男人
大部分Fan认为这个男人是Paul自己，因为他穿着Paul最爱的军衫！
7.摆在书本前的是一家名为BP Store的国际连锁商店的购物袋
Special/Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)中Paul唱到：’Buy all my food from the B.P store when the night kicks in"8.左边书堆旁的小圆电视
这个电视暗指专辑中的Television. 电视被Stove称做是最好的学习工具，从007到The Prisoner,乐队总能从中获取灵感。在Television中Paul还向他最爱的节目Sky News致敬。
9. 男人背后的斑马和狮子
斑马和狮子都指最后一首歌Being a Girl
要解释狮子的存在，首先要知道SIX的封面与意大利文艺复兴时期画家Antonello da Messina的作品Saint Jerome in his Study相似，该画作现存于伦敦。
St. Jerome in His Study
Jerome是古代一位圣人，他因为把古希腊和希伯莱文的圣经翻译成了拉丁文而闻名。
画面右边的走廊里注意看是一只狮子（six封面戴面具的人身后也是一只狮子），中世纪有个传说是Jerome曾为一只狮子拔去爪子上的荆棘，狮子由于感激从此便象家猫一样跟随着他，形影不离。在关于以Jerome为主题的绘画作品上，画家们经常在他周围画上狮子，SIX封面中的狮子因此得来。不过如果那个戴面具的人是Paul的话，是不是应该暗示着他自己是St. Paul呢~
斑马代表了道教的阴阳教义，而Being A Girl这首歌中有"these things elevate me above animals" 解释了这些动物的存在。
另外Chad还说过，Being A Girl这首歌是关于人们总是有某种渴望要转换角色变成其他东西，它并不一定是要变成女孩(Being a girl)，也可以是变成一只斑马(being a zebra)。
10. 楼梯下的一副画'The Vinegar Taster Painting'
这是道教的一幅画，画上一个儒学家一个佛教徒和一个道士在尝醋，道士在微笑而其他两位因为醋的味道皱起眉头。在Shotgun中有"Life is sweet but not it seems for Buddha" "Vinegar taster says 'The more force I apply, more trouble I make',是说佛学的普渡众生以及入世的态度只会带来麻烦和痛苦，而道家讲究无为以及对生活采取宽容和低调的态度，接受即将接受的，才不会对生活感到绝望。
11. 正在爬楼梯的维尼熊
专辑名SIX取自AAMiline的书<Now We Are Six>，Shotgun里有Like Winnie the Pooh/Confucianist rules,另外这首歌受Benjamin Hoff的书<The Tao Of Pooh>影响而写。
插播八卦一则， Chad的偶像Brian Jones是淹死在AAMiline的游泳池里的(他买了AAMiline的房子)，而Chad与BJ前女友有一面之交，曾一起去参观过AA Miline和Brian Jones的旧居。12. 在楼梯顶端暗处看书的男人
这个人是演过Dr. Who的Tom Baker。Chad当时把Witness to a Murder的歌词写好寄给他，他便按照自己的理解叙读出来了。
13. 倒立的雕像和最左边一正在照镜子的修女
Paul对严格的天主教教育很反感，他很少上教堂，并在Stripper Vicar里揭露了宗教的伪善，这首歌因此在马来西亚被禁。Cancer里他写了富有争议的句子"I'm emotionally raped by Jesus"
图中这位修女照的镜子里有4张面孔，暗指Legacy的歌词"A sea of faces just like me"
14. 放在左边柜子上的蓝色电话亭
如果你看过Dr. Who那么就不会对这个“电话亭”感到陌生。它的名字叫TARDIS,意指Time And Relative Dimensions In Space,在Dr. Who这部剧中，是一个外形象电话亭，内部空间无限大，能在时间和空间上任意穿行的神奇机器，这是它的剧中原图
Dr. Who是Paul和Chad最喜欢的电视剧之一，Tardis也算是对Dr. Who的致敬吧
15. 一摆在地板上的天秤(狮子头后面)
这个天秤上面黑白物质相持平，就和棋盘上的黑白棋子、地板的黑白方格一样，代表了道教的阴阳教义。除此外,象棋与封面楼梯正上方跳舞的舞者一样,都在the Prisoner里出现过.
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2008-05-16
不相关的下载推荐一个
多长时间了，终于！
发现一资源巨猛的BT下载站，最重要的是这里有TomBaker第四代博士的全集下载，种子连接数还相当多！
http://torrent-finder.com/
进去输Doctor Who Tom Baker就能搜到，就是太大，加起来足55G...分集下ing -
2008-05-13
[存档]The REPEAT fanzine 关于Paul的最新访谈！
沉静这么长时间终于等来一个大的，好长好爽的interview!
原文地址http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/interviews/paul%20draper.htmPaul Draper
On His Past, Present & Future…
March / April 2008
Questionnaire: Steve Bateman"It was an 'outsider thing'. The kind of 'outsider thing' that has lured lost souls into the dark labyrinths of obsession throughout the decades: Pulp's twitching-curtain sleaze, the leopardskin gaudiness of the Manic Street Preachers' Useless Generation, The Smiths' NHS geek-chic, Joy Division's catacombs of Camus. It was that defiant radiation-burst of savage individualism that often defines a band as a 'cult' and its fans as 'devotees'. The kind of 'outsider thing' that gives the misfits some place they can fit. But even alongside rock's lengthy parade of eccentrics and non-conformists, Mansun stood out a mile."
- Mansun Kleptomania Foreword Extract
Sorely missed and underrated, seems the most appropriate way of opening an introduction for any new article about Mansun, as for many fans, they were always so much more than just a band or a mere part of the soundtrack to our lives - they were as the sleeve quote above proposes, an 'outsider thing', and they were iconoclasts who we could all relate to. For they had that intangible quality, a connection / bond with people that goes way beyond actions or words, and which intrinsically, only a select few - 'The Mansun Family' - can ever fully understand or appreciate, each in our own unique and special way. Perhaps this is why Mansun's fate from beginning to end, was to remain as an esoteric 'cult' group.
Exploding onto the music scene in the late '90s in the wake of Britpop as Manson (later changed to Mansun for legal reasons), the Chester band - Paul Draper (lead vocals / rhythm guitar), Dominic Chad (lead guitar / backing vocals), Stove King (bass) and Andie Rathbone (drums) - were renowned for being "wilfully different and difficult," constantly side-stepping expectations and modifying their sound and image. As an active unit, their first ever release was the limited edition 7", Take It Easy Chicken, on their own Sci Fi Hi Fi Recordings label in 1996 prior to signing with Parlophone - with songwriter Paul once joking how the group said, "You give us some space and we'll metamorphose into the huge stadium rock band that you desire. And they believed us!" They then recorded 3 albums, Attack Of The Grey Lantern, Six and Little Kix + 14 EPs, before their sad and eventual demise in May 2003.
At the time, this was due mainly to band fatigue, troubled 4th album sessions, financial issues and their dissatisfaction with the commercial / polished nature of their previous LP, Little Kix - which had a softer, more accessible sound that EMI had pressurised the group into doing. And for the benefit of the uninitiated, the record company actually took matters into their own hands, by hiring an outside producer and relieving Mansun's creative leader / visionary, Paul Draper, of his usual production duties, as they wanted to ensure that there were enough songs that could be played on Independent Local Radio. On top of that, even some of Paul's lyrics were edited!
Thankfully though, the grandiose, imaginative, conceptual, complex and innovative music that Mansun made (particularly Attack Of The Grey Lantern and the OTT prog rock and musical segues of Six), lives on. And it is so ambitiously stitched-together, has so many twists and turns, and is filled with so much adventure, depth, melancholia, humour and baroque melodrama, that you'll constantly find something new with each and every listen, never knowing where a song is going to take you next! Spiked with Paul's cryptic, eccentric and unconventional lyrics (permeated with characters such as Dark Mavis), right through to his latter day, startlingly honest and soul-bearing confessionals - all sung with majestic and mellifluous tones - both Mansun's and Paul's music, should unfailingly continue to find its way into many people's lives for a number of years to come.
After the band spilt in 2003, Paul travelled around the USA writing songs and also lived in the South of France for a short time, before later reinforcing how much the group's legacy means to him, by overseeing the release of 2 posthumous Mansun collections. Firstly, there was 2004's lavish value-for-money 3CD Set, Kleptomania, which was meticulously compiled by Paul and features the aborted 'lost' 4th album sessions (an idea originally brought to life through an online petition by fans), non-album singles, b-sides, EP-only tracks, rarities, demos and unreleased songs. And more recently, there was 2006's aptly-titled Legacy, a Best Of culled together this time by Paul and Chad. Each compilation is as essential as the other, and not only do they acknowledge the love fans still have for Mansun, but they also stress Paul's own undying love for the band, his music and the fans, as evidenced through his detailed liner notes and thanks for our support!But what's happening in 2008? Well, in amongst the rumours of a possible Mansun reunion, Paul continues to produce other musicians, has been recording with Chad and is still working on solo material, recently disclosing, "I think it's going to be a really eclectic record - that's the best way I can describe it. I've got my own style of songwriting, I know that, but it's the recordings where I try and challenge myself and try new directions, to stay relevant and contemporary, and hopefully this will be an evolution and a departure from my previous work." In early March, I contacted Suzi @ Mansunite with a R*E*P*E*A*T Interview request, and Paul generously agreed to complete an extensive / revealing e-mail Q&A (as and when he had time to), in which he openly discusses his Past, Present & Future. And with his Official Website (www.pauldraper.net) also now online, I'm sure like all Mansun fans, you'll agree with me when I say, it's great to have him back…
1. How has 2008 been for you so far, and can you unveil any of your plans for the rest of the year - from solo projects to new songs, to the rumours of Mansun reforming… anything at all?
"Hi, I may as well get the bad news out of the way first. Unfortunately there won't be one more Greatest Hits Tour for the devotees. Mansun was put to bed and will never be resurrected I'm afraid, it was what it was and that's it, finito. I know there's a fad for reunions and stuff, but Dominic Chad would never do it so it can't happen and I think Greatest Hits Tours are rubbish. It was best to end it where it was, i.e. right in the middle of it if you see what I mean. Sorry. The bass player was sacked at the end which led to the split, so that leaves Andie and myself left standing and we'd look like a cross between The White Stripes and the Pet Shop Boys. Hmm, there's an idea! Although on the bright side, I'm currently working on my first post Mansun release. I know it's been a while and I don't want to be the indie Scott Walker releasing one record a decade, but after the band split, I put the fourth album sessions together which took a bit of time and did a bit of writing and production for other artists, which was something I'd been intending to do for a while. I digress, so basically I've been putting the project together this year and intend to work on it in the coming months."
2. A lot of people reading this interview will be Mansun / Paul Draper fans, who are renowned for being very loyal and devoted - even hardcore! What does this mean to you, and why do you think they have connected to you and your music, in such a passionate way?
"Well I hope they are still out there so they'll be interested in my new project, and it seems like a lot of people have joined up to my Facebook and MySpace pages, which is encouraging, considering they haven't heard the fruits of my labour yet. Of course the fans kept the Mansun show on the road really, as it got a bit depressing at times. If I was to be honest, I think people were passionate about the band for a number of reasons. a) I never distinguished between b-sides and a-sides on the EPs, so if you bought one you were getting more than your average single. b) I think people connected with the lyrics. On the first album the lyrics were pretty cryptic, but I think people connected with the small town weirdo observations, which was the theme of the first album. But after that, I wore my heart on my sleeve lyrically and was brutally honest - I suppose it was my emotional outlet as being in that band wasn't a happy experience for me. c) I think the gigs were exciting, I always tried to perform as if it was the last gig I'd ever get the chance to play..."
3. Is there anything that you would like to say to us?
"Err...? Hmm... Well, sorry we didn't play a full set at Glastonbury in 1997, but unfortunately the gig was sabotaged by the enemy within, as were many other things."
4. And now reversing this, what has been the best thing that someone has said about yourself / Mansun?
"I don't remember anyone saying anything good to be honest! NME really didn't like the band, which was a bitter blow, because I grew up with NME as my musical bible and still read it to this day. I suppose you only remember the bad reviews. I think the best review we ever got was either "Shit Sandwich" or "More rock bollox from them wankers from the land of gravel driveways". Although where I grew up in Deeside, there weren't any gravel driveways. In fact, they were all tarmac because those blokes used to come round with a truck full of tarmac and tarmac everyone's driveways. They did such a bad job, you could peel up the tarmac drive and lie under it like a big tarmac quilt, which kept me amused for days on end in the summer holidays. So that really hurt (not the review, just lying under a tarmac driveway really fucking hurt!)"
5. Growing up, what was your biggest source for discovering new music, and can you remember the first press coverage, radio airplay or TV exposure that Mansun ever had?
"Well, NME was the one for me, and Melody Maker of course. TV-wise, I got into new stuff from anything from The Tube to The Word. I'd absorb anything really, as there was no Internet back in the day - it was all so limited."
6. For you personally, what have been some of the most important albums from the last 50 years, and if you had to pick a favourite Decade for music, which one would it be?
"Hmm, I can tell you the albums that had the most influence on me. Revolver, Ziggy Stardust, Purple Rain and more recently, Songs For The Deaf. I've always listened out for a combination of songs and production - I'm not too fussed if something's cool or not. The ones I've picked are all from different decades, so I couldn't pick one, but I guess The 1950s were the most influential for rock 'n' roll overall, as that's where it all started. I went to Sun Studios in Memphis, where it all began, and it was an amazing experience."7. And which artist / band could you not imagine music without?
"Prince. I love his body of work. I'm not so much a fan of his singles, but I love his bootlegs, b-sides and tracks he did for his protégés. If you're not convinced, listen to Erotic City, 17 Days, Something In The Water Does Not Compute, Joy In Repetition... I could go on and on..."
8. Of all your favourite music, what's the ratio between mainstream and alternative acts?
"Well Prince is supposed to be mainstream, but the stuff I like of his is very avant-garde. Some of the stuff that's supposed to be alternative is so bloody unimaginative, it's just mainstream indie-schmindy. I like anything from The Carpenters to Stockhausen, so I guess it would be a 50/50 split."
9. I would assume that it was your love of specific artists and bands, that gave you the ambition to be part of a group that inhabited it's own musical world - because Mansun never really fitted into any particular music scene, at any time, and were almost thought of as a separate entity. Looking back now, do you think this was a benefit or a hindrance?
"Oh, that was a nightmare. You see in The Music Industry, you have to stick to very defined parameters of creativity. Really, The Music Industry is very similar to The Fashion Industry - you have to change the fashion every season to keep flogging new stuff to people, or the profits will go down. It doesn't mean the last fashion was bad, it's just out of fashion. If flares are in this year and skinny jeans next, it doesn't mean flares are shit clothes all of a sudden if you see what I mean. I think because Mansun were always out of fashion, it meant we existed in our own world, but equally, we couldn't break through to be a major act because The Industry thought we were uncool. We were like a pair of flares I suppose."
10. Do you believe that rock 'n' roll is at its most interesting, when it incorporates other musical genres and pushes boundaries?
"I don't know about that. Personally, I tried to push the envelope for what Northern bands were supposed to be about, but seemingly we fell flat on our face trying to do it, and we got steamrollered into doing a commercial sounding 3rd album which I didn't agree with. Hence I wouldn't tour it or do interviews about it, because I simply didn't believe in it, although I liked some of the songs."
11. As well as a musician, you are also an accomplished producer, but which producers do you most admire, and are there any records that you just love the overall atmosphere / sound of?
"A lot of good production is really down to the sound engineer or the mix engineer on a project. My style of production was really ideas based. I learnt the technical side as I went along. I love the sound of Revolver. I love the sound of The White Stripes records and probably my favourite contemporary production is Songs For The Deaf. I love dry, stark sounding records. Flood is a great producer; To Bring You My Love which he produced for Polly Harvey was beautiful and dark sounding."
12. I know that among others, you have worked with Skin - but if you could produce 1 artist or band right now, who would it be and why?
"It would be ME! I want to do my own record right now. Maybe I'll look at working with other artists in the future, but not at the moment."
13. Does your environment and personal life affect your songs, and has the way you work changed over the years?
"Of course, I just catalogue what's happening in my life in my songs at any given time. The first Mansun record was about my life and the people I met in Chester. The Six record was about being depressed at the goings on in the band and my life in general. In terms of how I work, it's still the same - I write loads of lyrical ideas in a notebook and collate them into songs. Musically, I throw loads of little melody ideas into a dictaphone and listen through them all and whittle them down into potential verses and choruses etc... I chop and change them all the time until I arrive at something that resembles a song."14. How closely do your songs match what's in your head?
"They are a mirror image of what's in my mind at the time of writing them. I've been criticised for making clever as opposed to soulful music, but I can assure you, all my music comes from my heart or soul or whatever you want to call it. Wherever it is or whatever it's called that music should come from, that's where I dredge it from. I'd prefer to call it desperation, although there isn't a physical part of the body that you could call the desperation gland."
15. Are your songs evocative of the time in which they were created / do they continue to reveal themselves to you over time i.e. lyrics and themes?
"No, they are a fixed point in time - a record of who you are, what you're thinking and my emotional state at the moment I write it. All that arty farty bollox about "interpret it as you will" is baloney from phonies. That just means they can't justify what they are writing. Although I am very reticent to reveal in detail what I'm actually trying to say in a song, as you don't want to reveal yourself too much. Writing is a way of doing it while keeping your innermost thoughts to yourself. Maybe I've just contradicted myself, oh well."
16. Do you have a favourite Mansun era / any favourite artwork, looks, photographs and videos?
"I guess the first album cover was good and I liked that the best. I thought we looked OK around the time of the second album. Pennie Smith did a lot of cool photos for us. Video-wise, I liked all the ones we weren't in as they were like little films. It didn't do us any good commercially of course, but then we always shot ourselves in the foot commercially."
17. Mansun were, and still are one of the most collectible bands around, but do you have your own personal collection of rare Mansun records, promos, bootlegs, memorabilia etc?
"I don't own anything I'm afraid - I even threw my Gold & Platinum Discs away in protest. I purged myself of anything Mansun related after I discovered loads of money disappearing from the band's accounts. I have a friend who showed me a book of collectible records and I was surprised how collectible the records are. I wish I'd have kept them now!"
18. On a similar note, I've long thought that the Mansun logo is one of the very best band logos - but is there a story behind this, and are there any particular band logos that you like?
"I liked the Mansun logo too. It was sprayed onto a wall somewhere round Merseyside, then we took a photo of it and made a logo of the graffiti. I wonder if it's still there? I don't really check out logos these days as they all seem to be in a similar typeface, but I suppose my all-time fave is The Beatles one, or possibly The Stones lips logo."
19. To date, what do you think has been the ultimate rock 'n' roll statement?
"I think it was Mansun in Hong Kong. We were the last British band to play in the Colony before the British Government handed it back to the Chinese. We were supposed to play a gig which ended up as us being perched on a guitar shaped glass balcony, playing to members of the Chinese Communist Party. We were sort of duped into it. We smashed the fucking monitors over the balcony and smashed our instruments up. We caused a diplomatic incident and made the front of the South China Morning Post and got deported. We had to hide in our hotel rooms until the plane arrived. So much for Mao's Cultural Revolution, he missed out the rock 'n' roll bit."
20. As one of the first musicians to fully embrace the Internet, you now regularly update your MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts. But what's the most memorable MySpace or Facebook message that you've ever received?
"Well at the moment, my Facebook page is more active with messages than my MySpace one. Some of the messages are unbelievable. I have to stay a bit removed from it to be honest. The Facebook and MySpace messages range from marriage proposals to death threats, to requests for discarded hair to offers of gigs at bar mitzvahs. But it's all good fun and I try and reply to as many MySpace / Facebook messages as possible. Usually, I spend ages replying to people only for them to message back saying, "That's not really you." For some reason, people have this impression that I have a big converted barn near Chester, full of drones sending out MySpace and Facebook messages. We try to answer all the messages that come through to my Website, or at least all the reasonable ones."
21. What inspires you outside of music and what's your biggest vice?
"I love Architecture - I wander around buildings and marvel at them. Sorry, you must think I'm even weirder than you already thought I was. And my biggest vice? Ha ha, that would be telling!"
22. Are there any particular gigs that standout in Mansun's history, and what were your favourite songs to perform live?
"I remember playing at Bath Moles club when we were caged in by sheep-fencing. It was 100 capacity with about 300 people in there, and they tore down the power cables and smashed my front tooth out by crowd surfing into my mic-stand and smashing the mic into my mouth. Blood everywhere, very cool!"
23. Of all the countries that you've ever been to / played in, which have been the most satisfying to visit?
"I liked everywhere to be honest. It was a challenge to play in front of any audience. If it wasn't a good crowd we knew we could turn it round. That happened after Andie joined - because we were crap live before that. He was the engine room of it all."24. Do you have any interesting tales from your time on the road, and what was your most rock 'n' roll moment?
"I couldn't possibly tell you what went on in that band. Firstly, nobody would believe me, but let's just say I was the least rock 'n' roll member of the band and let's leave it at that. You'd have to ask the others if they're prepared to reveal their dirty dark skeletons."
25. What have been some of your personal highlights / defining moments, during your career so far?
"There hasn't really been one highlight. There were loads of lowlights I remember, but probably releasing Six was a highlight because it was good to get something that wasn't mainstream, into the mainstream."
26. And of all your songs, which are you most proud of and why?
"I don't really like my own stuff, I've never really listened to it. Andie played me Grey Lantern once, when we were stoned, and it sounded cool enough. My fave song that I wrote was Until The Next Life, which was simultaneously the worst recording, as it was just my home demo released on the record which was a big mistake."
27. Having been making music since you were a young child, and been a part of The Music Industry, what would now give you the most satisfaction?
"I don't really think anything tangible would give me satisfaction now, that's all gone. I just want to make records I'm happy with."
28. Lastly, chips or cream buns?
"Hmm… either. You've made me hungry, I'm off for a Pot Noodle…"
A very special thanks to Paul, to Suzi @ Mansunite / pauldraper.net, and to Rosey, for all of their time and help. -
2008-04-07
有关SIX内容的部分解释(三) - [研究癖--SIX]
6.Fall Out
涉及到的主题
69年登月计划，Marxism
歌词
Did Stanley Kubrick fake it on the moon
Draper深信1969年美国月球登陆是个阴谋,他在采访里称” It’s a typical American CIA bullshit crap”. 并认为所谓的登月事件只是在Stanley Kubrtick的电影中发生过,月球从未被人们踏足.
(事实上这种说法确实为不少人所信服，一些科学家也用很多强有力的疑问挑战了美国登月计划的权威性)
旋律
前奏改自柴可夫斯基广为人知的胡桃夹子序曲（Nutcracker Suite）,有兴趣的可以参照下原版,下载点此.
7. Serotonin涉及到的主题
这首歌非常自我,描写了Paul对自己周期性偏头痛的体验。
歌词：
My migraine makes me illMy electricity is low
My laceration soothes itself
My chemicals flow
And I'm boosting what I take
Just like the Germans, getting off
On herbal vacuum - pumps of blow
It shows all I know
And I drop and I drop
And my body levels drop
And my nerves clogging up
Sucking all the substance up
此段全部是对疾病的生理反应的描写，之后便转入超现实般的意识流中
With this method that I have found
I'm redressing all I know
I can change the amount of God
That wraps around me
From a satellite they fire
Serotonin from eight miles
Above Deeside in binary
It orbits my street
(Deeside是paul曾经工作过的一个地方)
(Redux, redux, redux, redux
Redux, redux, redux, redux
Redux, redux, redux, redux)
My chemist is the only friend that I've got
其实对于这首歌词还有两种质疑，有人认为这首歌实则描写瘾君子的high药反应，尤其最后一句暗示感非常强烈；也有人认为(其实就只有我=0=)这首歌是paul对童年时被外星人劫持的残存回忆。
8.Cancer涉及到的主题
癌症是paul对梵蒂冈天主教廷的讽刺比喻，他认为现在的天主教是虚伪和邪恶的。这些信仰者们不但违背了根本的教义，并且还暗中支持过反人性的战争。
歌词：My book of Mormon / Wrapped in Turin
摩门教的经书
Uninformed / You will harbour those who nurtured Europe's WarPaul认为在二战时梵蒂冈教廷曾资助过挑起战争的纳粹一方，即此句由来。
旋律：
从3:00开始长达四分钟的纯器乐段编制美妙绝伦，其中那些怪诞的人声是paul和chad录下的自己的声音。
9. Witness to a murder这段曲子几乎没有加入任何乐器来修饰，只有Tom Baker诡异的独白和一对歌剧演唱家
Vernon Midgley/Maryetta Midgley的美声点缀。歌词关联到Brian Jones的被谋杀而死之说，由Chad写好直接交给了Tom Baker来演绎，而后者当时对乐队闻所未闻。Witness to a murder本来有两段，Part 1据Paul说是Chad喝醉后遗失了。现存的只有这首，以及Kleptomania碟三里的Witness to a Murder Part 1 [Hidden Track]，而这个Pt.1只是在Pt.2基础上remix出来的。
10.Television整首歌给人隐忍的焦虑感，写了paul自己的强迫症。
歌词：
On top of the hour
I see my life through Sky News
Sky news-24小时滚动播出频道,Paul的最爱
I'm going pay-per-view
pay-per-view------付费电视
I scratch my knee / I have to scratch the other
Sleep on one side and the other (keeping things in order)
神经质般的强迫症表现…
I'm in the Open University
Open University是夜大,函大,电视授课为BBC2,4am
11. Special _ Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)这首歌把着重点放于未来，假设了象Ziggy Stardust这样一个人若干年后会是什么样子------”a sad old fucker,” Paul如此解释。
Buy all my food from the B.P store when the night kicks in
the B.P store是Paul常去的连锁店
12. LegacyPaul解释说Legacy(遗产)指人们死后留在世界上的一切，包括财产、名声以及世人的评价。而他自己的看法只有两点：
All relationships are emptying and temporary
Nobody cares when you're gone
13. Being A Girl又是一个隐喻，Chad曾说being a girl并不一定是变成女孩，也可以是being a zebra.因此这首歌是对人类为达到某种违反常理的目的而倾其所能的行为的表述。
('Being A Girl' is another metaphor: this one for the way people try and combat human nature to become someone they're not." -- Paul)
终于拖完了,典型的猪头蛇尾-_- -
2008-03-08
Six封面绘制者Max Schindler的访谈 - [研究癖--SIX]
感谢Coral翻到的这篇东西,里面讲了很多,翻译出来存档.
原文以及更多讨论来自集合Mansun论坛
http://www.beherenow.cn/viewthread.php?tid=17325
译:
你们是怎么接到设计six封面这个活的？
通过我的代理商和设计师合伙人，乐队从一个坐落在Bayswater经常设计品牌形象的公司搞到了一份设计大纲。他们想找个能模仿Baron Frederic Leighton画作风格的人来做——Baron Frederic Leighton是个很成功的英国画家，许多作品以维多利亚时期风格而出名。他们之前早已与乐队通过气，大概了解了他们想要什么效果的封面。但是接下来几周的互动使他们发现要做的并不是Leighton的仿品——将要被画入画布的物体根本与那种风格不契合，画里出现的Tardis飞船永远都不会使油画看起来象Leighton的名作”Flaming June”，但它确定了画作的基调。
在接下这个设计封面的工作前你对mansun了解多少？
之前从来没听说过他们， 但是有次我跟哥们提起这乐队， 旁边立刻有人贩冒出来激动得说什么”灰灯笼”永远是他最爱的专辑。
那开工前你对专辑了解多少？ 乐队的人有没有提到过这张作品受到什么风格影响，或借鉴了什么样的思想？
对专辑基本不了解，也没人说过。我们画封面的时候歌还在录着，对于six的封面设计有很多工作要做，我们大概花费了2-3周时间才完成。而且设计大纲老是变来变去，使进程大大减慢。我当时是直接和他们联系的，然后总是有电话过来讲：”Paul想把Tom Baker和Winnie the Pooh加进去””Paul想让the prisoner主演在里头玩国际象棋和读书”或”Paul觉得把他喜欢的一幅画放进去挺不错的，他说那幅画叫the vinegar drinkers,作者不详但他会寄给你那幅画的草图”,我都不知道那画是从啥地方发现的后来记得找到了考证，不过现在又忘了。反正封面上楼梯下面的图画the vinegar drinkers是从paul的草图里copy来的。
你认为这次艺术设计和里面包裹的音乐、歌词契合度怎么样？ 觉得它们一致吗？
我可能永远不会知道因为我没收到那张专辑。反复讨论修改了半天做成的活，我现在只有CD封面图样和LP封面图样，然而没有看到专辑。我可不是故意这么酸溜溜的。
这次的封面设计收到了来自歌迷以及评论家的不同意见，有的说它看起来象60年代的风格，你觉得呢？
我？呃，我很高兴看到这样的评论，我实在不想做什么评论。它甚至出现在一些网站上评出的10大最烂专辑封面里，第九名，评论曰”自命不凡,完完全全Kit Williams的仿品”,（Kit Williams写了本书叫Masquerade,用图画表示的，关于什么寻宝什么的… http://www.treasureclub.net/publichunts/masquerade/index.html ） 你只要看看Kit Williams的任何作品就会认识到10大最烂榜这些人严重地忽视了什么。他们误解了一点，形式的相似与内容的相似根本不是一回事，比如很多不相关的事物标上相同文字放在一个普通的环境下，风格都是很不相同的。(无视吧，翻不出有逻辑的话)那些什么都不会做的无能的人才去做评论。你肯定能发现我看不上批评家，世界上有这种职业存在真是让我感到惊奇，这算哪门子工作？ 很明显他们对对之做评论的东西没有任何实际的专业意见，在专辑批评家里表现为对音乐的无知，这号人的评论在我眼里尤其没价值。说太多批评家了，至于那些把它称为60年代艺术风格的人贩子们，我觉得他们说得不错。如果没记错的话，专辑本身一发行就遭到全球批评家的诽谤，以至于它在音乐榜单上第三位呆了没一刻种就消失得无影无踪。Paul说他下次不得不做张不太试验性的专辑出来。我对这次设计的看法是，它是个很专业的设计，你可以在http://www.maxschindler.com 看到我的态度。
这个封面借鉴了Antonello da Messina的'St. Jerome in his study吗？
没啊，可能有人这么想但我可没听说过。
Six的设计有没有个正式的名号(除了被称为The Six artwork)? 它有没有被公开展出过？
没有。我习惯叫它the Mansun Cover,因为我只给他们做了这个，以后再没合作过。原本现在可以在我那堆画里和洗衣机旁边的脏衣服里翻到。
能告诉我一些封面上包含的物品的暗喻么？比如照镜子的修女，五彩的圆盘，斑马和没有名字的书？
修女照镜子那个我不清楚，问Paul吧。五彩圆盘，那可不是什么五彩圆盘，是电视剧the prisoner里的道具叫the penny farthing bicycles。没名字的书….很简单，当时没时间做完。Paul当初列了两个书目单准备添到画里那堆书上，书目少的那张单子列出来的作品是确有其事，后来补充的那张单子要用电脑PS到画里的书脊上。我想之所以出现空白名字的书大概是因为列出的书目不够所以没填完。你要在脑袋里形成一个完整的工作流程并估算能否及时赶完，所以本来设计好的东西到后来再改就太晚了，你不会费时去补充它。一些因素是变动的一些不是，所以出现没书名的书籍完全是时间有限所为。
最后一个问题，画里头看书的人是谁？为什么他要戴面具？
===这人说了一堆不相关的话(我理解貌似是一个英式幽默带大量典故实在不想google了)=== …blah blah blah…我希望能保持神秘。实际上这是paul的注意，我怀疑那就是他自己，这个创意也是讨论一路毙掉无数后的幸存者。
St.Chad's Room
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