英语流利说20181224

The Rise and Fall of Christmas Music

圣诞音乐的兴衰史

Christmas music as we know it was born in 1963, when Phil Spector corralled his stable of singers into the the studio to record "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector". Until then, there had only been schmaltzy carols and easy listening staples, with occasional hints of a party tune.

Mr. Spector made the first Christmas album that managed to be both thrilling and seasonal. It sounded like the Christmas party, not the snooze after  Christmas dinner. So these days you can find heavy metal Christmas albums, funk Christmas albums and punk Christmas albums.

Britain has embraced the Christmas single: between 1974 and 1990, nine of the number ones on Christmas Day were explicitly festive records. In America, meanwhile, there has never been a seasonal song at number one at Christmas in the Billboard Hot 100. Perhaps the Christmas single has lost some of its lustre.

Yet the Christmas album remains a regular feature on the release shedule of major artists. This year, for example, there is one album called "Christmas Party" from the Monkees. The people they aim at are middle-aged, trying to recreate their old Christmas of Slade or the Pogues.

In a sense, then, Christmas records have returned to their pre-Spector purpose. Forget the teenagers: they're in their bedrooms on Spotify, Youtube or Netflix. But in the living room, the adults have pulled on the Christmas sweaters and poured the egg nog. Nowm what will it be, Bing Crosby or Eric Clapton?

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重点词汇：

corral, v. 把（一群人）集中起来

stable, n.（同一家公司工作的）一批人

schmaltzy, adj. (音乐，电影，书籍)过度感伤或煽情的

carol, n.颂歌

easy listening, n.轻松，舒缓的音乐

staple, n.主要产品，主要部分；主打歌

hint, n.少量

heavy metal / funk / punk, 重金属／放克／朋克

lustre, n.光泽；光彩，荣耀

pull on, 穿上毛衣裤子等，戴上手套

egg nog, n.蛋奶酒