致后街男孩：你们从未离开

2017-10-25张晓敏

新东方英语·中学版 2017年10期

张晓敏

“As Long As You Love Me”“Everybody”“Shape of My Heart”……音樂史上最成功的乐团之一后街男孩的这些歌曲大家一定不会感到陌生，它们点亮了我们的青春年华，陪伴我们走过了有欢乐有悲伤、或懵懂或迷茫的青葱岁月。今年3月1日开始，后街男孩在拉斯维加斯的好莱坞星球酒店开始了为期18天、名为“非同凡响（Larger Than Life）”的驻场演唱会，再度点燃了无数粉丝的热情，并勾起了大家的美好回忆……

When the young woman working at the hotel front desk asked me what had brought me to Las Vegas， I told her that I was here to cover the opening night of the Backstreet Boys' residency at Planet Hollywood and was fully prepared for a possibly religious musical experience.

She smiled broadly.

"I knew their lyrics even before I knew English，" she said. "I really didn't know what they were saying， but I loved them."

My own appreciation for the Backstreet Boys started 18 years ago—when I was 11.

Compared to some other fans， I was a little late to the party. By the time I watched their performance at the 1998 VMAs3）， they'd already broken out4） in the United States.

After that night， they added one more huge fan to their ranks5）.

I wallpapered my bedroom with their faces， revolved my life around6） watching and recording （on VHS7）！） their TV performances， scoured8） eBay9） for memorabilia10） from all corners of the globe， and volunteered my services at my parents' restaurant so I could earn tips to fund my obsession. （Teen magazines are deceptively pricey.）

What became a next-level obsession was also a welcomed distraction from the crippling11） shyness that dominated my pre-teen and teen years. At school， I dreaded nothing more than being asked a question in class， and struggled with anxiety every morning， sometimes to the point of tears. Separated from my best （and only） friend by opposite class schedules， I managed to find a small group of girls who shared my passion for BSB.

If it wasn't for them， I wouldn't have had anyone to speak to in middle school.

As I grew up， so did my musical tastes. But I've always had—and always will have—a soft spot for12） the Backstreet Boys. Whenever I cross paths with13） one of their songs while at the grocery store or driving， it's like seeing an old friend. It's familiar and quite lovely.

Weeks before their Vegas debut14）， I created a playlist of my favorite songs to warm up. It had probably been a year since my last deep dive into Backstreet Boys' musical past. What never ceases to surprise me is the little jolt15） of emotions I feel in those .rst chords of my favorite songs.endprint

The opening moments of "Shape of My Heart" take me back to 2001， when my now late father took me four hours north of my Texas hometown to San Antonio to watch BSB a few weeks after my birthday. The image of him awkwardly bobbing his head in attempt to show enthusiasm for my sake is forever burned in my head.

"The One" reminds me of when I begged the manager at the local Burger King to give me the Backstreet Boys banner that was flying outside of the restaurant when the band were spokespeople. （He gave it to me.）

On Wednesday night， as the band took the stage at Planet Hollywood， I wondered who else around me had similar musical memories. How many others in the crowd would hear a song that night that transported them to another time in their lives， good and bad？

The Backstreet Boys performed a 20-song set for nearly two hours， comprised of early hits like "We've Got It Goin' On" to their popular fare16）， like "I Want It That Way" and "Quit Playin' Games". They even busted out17） their old-school18） chair choreography19） for "As Long as You Love Me".

In his speech to the crowd， Brian Littrell20） reminded the audience that the Backstreet Boys are going 24 years strong， and asked if the crowd would support the idea of "another 24".

"We might just have to be like， 'Backstreet's old， okay！21）'" he joked， putting a lyrical twist to the tune of "Everybody".

Did it make me feel old？ Absolutely. But I also felt thankful.

I'm thankful for years of music that got me through some rough times. And thankful that I still experience youthful joy when I hear the lyric "Backstreet's back"—even though for so many fans， like myself， they've never really gone anywhere.

當在酒店前台工作的姑娘问我是什么让我来到拉斯维加斯时，我告诉她我来这儿是为了报道后街男孩在好莱坞星球酒店举办的驻场演唱会的开幕式之夜，并且已经充分准备好去迎接一场可能会变成朝圣般的音乐体验。

她露出一个大大的笑容。

“我在会说英语之前就知道他们的歌词了，”她说，“我那时真的不知道他们在唱什么，但我非常喜欢他们。”

我自己对后街男孩的欣赏则要追溯到18年前——当时我11岁。

跟其他的一些歌迷相比，我加入这个群体的时间有点晚。等到我在1998年MTV音乐录影带大奖颁奖典礼上看到他们的演出时，他们在美国已经相当红了。

而在颁奖典礼那晚过后，他们又多了一个超级粉丝。

当时，我在卧室墙上贴满了他们的脸部特写海报，我整个生活的中心就是观看并（用家用录像机！）录制他们的电视表演。我还在eBay上满世界地寻找他们的纪念品，并主动请缨去爸妈的餐馆里帮忙好赚取一些小费来满足我对他们的迷恋。（青少年杂志其实并没有看起来那么便宜。）

我的少年和青少年时期都被极其严重的害羞心理所困扰，而对后街男孩迷恋的进一步加深也让我不再那么在意我的这种害羞，这无疑是件好事。在学校，我最怕上课时被叫起来回答问题，而且每天早上都要与焦虑感做斗争，有时甚至会到掉眼泪的地步。由于课表完全不同，我与最好的（也是唯一的）朋友分开了，在这种情况下，我设法找到了一群和我一样热爱后街男孩的女孩子。

要不是因为有她们在，我上中学那会儿会连一个可以说话的人都没有。

随着我不断长大，我的音乐品味也不断提升，但我一直都——以后也将永远都会——喜欢后街男孩。每当我在杂货店或是开车时偶然听到他们的某一首歌，我都觉得像是见到了一位老朋友，既熟悉又特别亲切。endprint

在他们拉斯维加斯首演开始的几周前，我挑选了一些我最喜欢的歌曲创建了一个歌单，为接下来的演唱会热身。从我上次全情投入地回顾后街男孩的音乐至今已经大概有一年的时间了。每当我最喜欢的那些歌的前奏一响起，我都会感到一阵小小的激动，这总会让我感到惊讶。

“Shape of My Heart”的开场旋律将我带回到2001年，当时我刚过完生日没几周，我父亲（现已过世）带我北上，到离我们老家得克萨斯四个小时车程的圣安东尼奥去看后街男孩。他为了我而笨拙地摇头晃脑以示热情，这一幕深深地刻在了我的脑海里。

“The One”让我想起了在后街男孩还是汉堡王代言人时，我有一次恳求本地汉堡王的经理把餐厅外飘扬着的后街男孩的宣传横幅送给我。（他真的把横幅送给我了。）

周三晚上，随着后街男孩在好莱坞星球登台表演，我想知道周围还有谁和我有着相似的音乐记忆。那天晚上的人群中，还有多少人会在听到一首歌后被带往他们人生中的另一个时刻，无论悲喜？

后街男孩表演了近两个小时，一共唱了20首歌，包括早期风靡一时的曲目（如“We've Got it Goin' On”），还有他们大受欢迎的歌曲（如“I Want It That Way”和“Quit Playin' Games”）。他们演唱“As Long as You Love Me”这首歌时甚至还表演了经典的椅子舞。

在对观众讲话时，布莱恩·利特尔提醒大家后街男孩已经流行了24年，并问大家是否会支持后街男孩再来“24年”的这个想法。

“到时候我们可能就得唱‘Backstreet's old， okay！（后街男孩都老了，好吧！）了。”他模仿着“Everybody”的曲调改编了这么一句，开玩笑道。

这一切有没有让我觉得自己老了？毫无疑问。但我同时也觉得非常感激。

我很感激他们的音乐陪伴了我那么多年，帮我度过了一些艰难的时刻。我很感激自己在听到“后街男孩回来了”的时候仍然能感受到年轻时的喜悦——虽然对于像我这样的无数歌迷而言，他们真的从未离开过。

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1. nostalgia [n..st.ld..] n. 怀旧之情；对过去美好时光的留恋

2. residency [.rez.d.nsi] n. （艺术家、作家、音乐家等为机构工作的）驻留时间，驻留期

3. VMA：（= Video Music Award）即MTV音乐录影带大奖，是美国的一个音乐奖项，由美国有线电视频道MTV主办，旨在表彰那些最优秀的音乐MV。每年，其颁奖盛典都能吸引上百万年轻人的关注。

4. break out：一炮打响，非常走红

5. one's/the ranks：（团体或组织的）成员

6. revolve around：围绕；以……为中心；将……作为主要兴趣

7. VHS：（= video home system）家用录像系统