新編大學英語第四冊unit8 Text C: Sounding the Waters
UNIT 8 AFTER-CLASS READING 2; New College English (IV)
Sounding the Waters
1 In the past the different types of media around the world and within the United States have usually acted independently of one another. In fact, they have often been seen as competitors. During the 1960s and 1970s when television first became popular, some people predicted the "death" of radio, books, and newspapers, saying that television would provide the entertainment, knowledge and news once provided by the other media. Thankfully, this did not happen. Each has its own group of supporters; in fact, most people read a daily newspaper, listen to the radio in their cars while driving to work or in their offices while working, and during leisure hours read a new best-selling book or watch television.
2 It has been rare for the various media groups to work together, but recently professionals within the different fields of journalism have realized that by combining their resources they could attempt projects that they could not afford to accomplish by working alone. This has resulted in a multi-media production called River of Song: A Musical Journey down the Mississippi. Each continent of the world has its river or rivers of note the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in China, the Nile River in North Africa, and the Amazon River in South America. In North America it is without doubt the Mississippi River. River of Song is a documentary production. It consists of a four-hour, four-part television series to be shown on Public Television.
3 The text for River of Song was written by Elijah Wald, a music critic for the Boston Globe, a newspaper long noted for its support of the arts. In addition to the television series, there is a corresponding seven-hour, seven-part series airing on Public Radio, a 36-song, two-CD soundtrack, and a 352-page book. Although different media are involved, their focus remains the same: to document the musical traditions that thrive on the banks of the Mississippi, from Lake Itasca in the northern state of Minnesota, the river's source, to where the waters empty into the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Louisiana.
4 Although the series is a documentary, viewers, listeners and readers will be happy to find that they will not be overwhelmed with numerous dates and events, with old black-and-white photos, or serious lectures given by earnest Hollywood actors. The story is told through a series of lively personal portraits of the musicians who live in the cities and towns along the Mississippi River. The audience gets to know these musicians not as mere representatives of musical trends and types but as regular people trying to make a living with their music. In the television series they are seen sweating through their performances, going about their daily routine, or sitting around their living rooms making music with their friends.
5 Both the television and radio productions are narrated by a folk guitarist, Ani DiFranco. She believes that beneath whatever is currently popular in the music of any society, there is always an "undercurrent" of music coming from the people. She says that this is the "sound of culture itself in the streets, bars, gyms, churches, and back porches of the real world". The musicians are generally not superstars. A few of them might deserve a chance to perform to national audiences on television or otherwise, but most of them are content to be known only locally. They show a commitment to music that is deeper than that of a celebrity: for them, music isn't simply a means to acquire wealth or fame. It's a method of preserving traditions and a way of life. As one Louisiana musician appearing in the series says, "We, the young generation, are the glue that keeps the culture going. If we don't continue playing the music, it's going to be lost."
6 The music and musicians are varied in the series. There are African drummers, rock and roll guitarists, accordionists, blues singers, choirs, brass bands, and folk fiddlers, to name only a few, all of whom live along the Mississippi River. They often remind their audience that the Mississippi has long been associated with music. Over one hundred years ago, when Mark Twain wrote about life along the big river, the big steam-powered paddle-wheeled boats made their way along it. The passengers were usually entertained by musicians playing the local music. One of these paddle wheelers, the Delta Queen, built in 1926, still makes a trip between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Like one hundred years ago, the passengers enjoy both the scenery and the music.
7 River of Song concludes with rather sad music. On an island at the mouth of the Mississippi, the audience meets Irvan and Allen Perez, two cousins who belong to a group of Spanish-speaking people who first settled in Louisiana 200 years ago. The Perezes are fishermen. As they work, they sing unaccompanied by musical instruments. Their songs are usually 10 stanzas long and are mostly in Spanish. They sing of shrimp boats and fur trappers, bad weather and home mortgages. Their voices are strong and pure. The following are two translated lines from a song that Allen sings: "Against this trapper are mosquitoes and high water. And to finish him completely, the bank sends him a letter." It is a sad song but still hopeful. His performance reminds the listener that American music is broad and big, like a river, and it keeps flowing. Pop music, when compared to the music immortalized through River of Song, suddenly seems worth no more than just a glass of water from the tap. Many people in the United States plan to watch the series on television, listen to it on the radio, read about it in the book as well as in newspapers and magazines which have covered this event enthusiastically, and then purchase the CD in order that they may continue to enjoy the results of multi-media cooperation.
