盒式磁带在英美国家再度流行

First LPs and record players made a comeback – now the cassette tape is rewinding back into our lives.

起先是密纹唱片和唱机的重新流行，如今盒式磁带也回到了我们的生活。

Music fans on both sides of the Atlantic are returning to the cassette two decades after they were replaced by the CD, and more recently digital downloads.

二十年前，盒式磁带被CD取代；近几年CD又被数字下载取代。但如今，盒式磁带又重新成为了大西洋两岸音乐爱好者们的热门选择。

This nostalgia for the old format comes despite the frustrations that led to their decline, including their tendency to become scrambled and jammed in players.

盒式磁带容易卡带和缠进机器里，令人抓狂，也曾因此一度衰败，但是人们对老磁带的怀旧情绪却日益浓厚。

Sales of music tapes are rising so quickly in the US that the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade body for music labels which also certifies gold and platinum records, is investigating ways to track sales for the first time since the early 1990s.

在美国，盒式磁带的销量一路飙升，这促使美国唱片业协会自上世纪90年代初以来首度开始追踪盒式磁带的销售数据。美国唱片业协会是代表美国唱片业的贸易团体，同时它也负责金唱片和白金唱片的认证。

It is thought the revival was started by underground music acts. But now, more mainstream musicians have started producing albums on cassette again.

有人认为，磁带的复兴是由地下音乐团体发起的。但是现在，越来越多的主流音乐人开始制作磁带形式的专辑。

British singer Marina and the Diamonds released her last album, Froot, on cassette late last year. Albums from top US stars are also available on cassette, including Justin Bieber’s latest release, Purpose, and Kanye West’s Yeezus. They are being sold at fashion chains such as Urban Outfitters, as well as being available online. Meanwhile Hypnohouse Trax, a British dance music label, has put out a collection of its own on tape.

去年，英国歌手美钻玛琳娜出的新专辑《果漾缤纷》就是磁带形式。美国顶级明星们也出了磁带形式的唱片，包括贾斯汀·比伯的最新专辑《目的》和坎耶·维斯特的《耶稣》。这些专辑在Urban Outfitters这类时尚连锁店均有售卖，网上也有货源。同时，英国舞蹈音乐公司Hypnohouse Trax也以磁带形式推出了他们的合集。

Sales of cassettes in the UK could follow the path of vinyl record sales – which fell to a low of just over 205,000 in 2007, but have grown every year since and hit a 20-year high of 2.1million in 2017.

盒式磁带在英国或许能成为第二个黑胶唱片。2007年，黑胶唱片的销量跌至20.5万张，但从那以后，其销量开始逐年攀升；2017年更是达到了二十年来的最高记录——210万张。

The Oxford English Dictionary dropped ‘cassette player’ from its concise edition in 2011. It now seems this may have been premature.

2011年，《牛津简明英语词典》删除了“卡式录音机”这一词条。如今看来，此举似乎为时过早。

And Sony stopped producing its iconic Walkman portable cassette player in 2010, although other brands, such as Philips, still make them.

2010年，索尼宣布其标志性的便携式卡带音乐播放器（随身听）停产。不过飞利浦等其他品牌还在生产。

Lee Rickard, 32, co-founder of independent record label Burger Records, which is based in Orange County, a suburb of Los Angeles, explained the appeal, saying: ‘Music just sounds different on tape, sometimes as it was originally intended to sound.

伯格唱片公司是一个独立唱片制作团体，位于洛杉矶郊区奥兰治县。它的联合创始人，32岁的李·里卡德说：“磁带播放的音乐听起来有不同的感觉，有时候甚至可以还原音乐的韵味。”

‘Cassettes are compact, tangible, instant collectables, often with original and numbered artwork — and as cheap as a cup of coffee, so you can support your local artist without buyer’s remorse.

“磁带是结构紧凑的实物，方便即时收藏；音乐内容有序且充满原始韵味，而且价格只相当于一杯咖啡。这样你在支持本土艺人时也就不会肉痛了。”

Burger Records has plans to release its own Burger Buddy, which will play tapes as well as convert them to computer-readable MP3 files.

伯格唱片公司计划推出新产品“伯格好伙伴”。它既能播放磁带，又能把里面的音乐转换成电脑可识别的MP3格式。

Vocabulary

LP: 密纹唱片，Long Playing Record

vinyl: 黑胶唱片