The rise and fall of Christmas music
圣誕音樂的興衰史
Christmas music as we know it was born in 1963, when Phil Spector corralled his stable of singers into 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.
眾所周知，圣誕音樂誕生于 1963 年，當時菲爾·斯佩克特把一群歌手聚集到錄音室，錄制了《菲爾·斯佩克特送給你的圣誕禮物》。在那之前，圣誕音樂只有一些傷感煽情的頌歌和輕松舒緩的主打歌，偶爾也會有一些歡樂的旋律。
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.
斯佩克特先生制作了第一張既扣人心弦又具有季節氣息的圣誕專輯。它聽起來像是圣誕派對，而不是圣誕晚餐后的昏昏欲睡。于是，現在你可以找到各種重金屬風、鄉村爵士風、朋克搖滾風的圣誕專輯。
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.
圣誕單曲在英國廣受歡迎：從 1974 年至 1990 年，在圣誕節當天排名第一的單曲中，有九首具有明顯節日氣氛的單曲。然而，在美國的圣誕節，從來沒有一首應季歌曲登上《公告牌》百強單曲榜的榜首。也許圣誕單曲已經失去了它昔日的光彩。
Yet the Christmas album remains a regular feature on the release schedule 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 Christmases of Slade or the Pogues.
然而，圣誕專輯的發行仍然是主流藝人日程安排表上的常規計劃。例如，今年有一張來自門基樂隊、名為《圣誕派對》的專輯。他們的目標人群是那些中年人們，而這些人試圖重現播放著斯萊德樂隊或者潑格斯樂隊音樂的老式圣誕節。
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. Now, what will it be, Bing Crosby or Eric Clapton?
從某種意義上說，圣誕節唱片又有了在斯佩克特出現之前的意圖。別去管那些青少年：他們都在自己的臥室里瀏覽 Spotify、YouTube 或 Netflix。但在客廳里，大人們已經穿上了圣誕毛衣，倒上了蛋奶酒。那么，接下來該播放點什么呢，是平·克勞斯貝還是埃里克·克萊普頓？
