Sparklehorse的专辑曲目排列很多时候是一首快一首慢的搭配。如果你已经陶醉在他们的慢里面，那么你就会感觉那些快都是拖着疲倦的身体跑出来的，那些吵闹都是用尽全身力气折腾出来的，那些轻快都是硬撑着拉起来的，掩盖不住的是骨子里的忧郁和低调。这样排比的说法似乎是写手文字上的讨好。但是不可否认，很少有乐队可以像他们那样快慢动静都那么唯美而动听，同时又都叫人感到压抑的。

　　Sparklehorse就像一个患了抑郁症的家伙。这天他的情绪不特别低落，但是也够不上平静，更不用说兴奋。他很慢很慢地一步步在走路，有时候他拼了命地跑，脚却像灌了铅快不起来；有时候他拼了命挤出灿烂的笑容，却同时感到无力言语。——我不介意再用一次修辞酸一把。因为听Sparklehorse是一种难以名状的体验，它让人感到孤独但是又有慰藉，让人进入奇异的幻想王国。

　　我不喜欢再人云亦云地复述Sparklehorse的主脑人物Mark Linkous有多悲惨坎坷的命运和遭遇，因为用他们的音乐本身来说话更有说服力。他们什么时候出道什么时候出唱片什么时候演出背后有什么故事等等这些，都可以轻松在网上找到如出一源的资料，都不及音乐和聆听本身重要。

1998 - dragging pianos [bootleg]\homecoming queen
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49354&yz=76068367
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411080954368/76068367.mp3)

　　这个版本的节奏比我一开始在《音乐天堂》出的那本咚咚上面听到的还要慢上一大截。原来还可以更慢……起初我只是对里面的旋律和细若游丝的声线念念不忘，当我看到歌词之后就不能不加上对Sparklehorse瑰异的想象力的由衷赞叹了。也许是先入为主的关系，我一直把这首Homecoming Queen作为Sparklehorse的代表作看待。

1998 - dragging pianos [bootleg]\happy man
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49313&yz=49758972
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411084419918/49758972.mp3)

　　这是他们最吵闹的一首歌，但是吵闹并不为他们带来半点高兴的情绪。主唱在重复地喊着All I want is to be a happy man. All I want...却让人联想到Ozzy Osbourne在Paranoid里面说的"I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late"。

　　这首歌有很多版本，尤其以2000年EP《distorted ghost》的版本制作最精良，但我还是觉得这个bootleg的版本最好。比起录音室出来的每轨分明、互不冒犯的声音，我一直偏爱主唱的嗓音被各种噪音包围着压着、好不容易才冒出来的现场，这对一些呐喊尤其管用。

1998 - dragging pianos [bootleg]\saturday
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49326&yz=95757536
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411082211434/95757536.mp3)

　　这首歌不是一般的煽情，悲在脸上。

1998 - dragging pianos [bootleg]\saint mary
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49368&yz=54842679
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411084351096/54842679.mp3)

　　开头提琴奏出的旋律有点像Saturday，但是少了Saturday旋律上营造的凄美感和那犹如缓慢迟疑的脚步声一样的鼓点，而只有无力的平静，好像走累了躺在树荫下似的。

1998 - dragging pianos [bootleg]\pig
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49374&yz=77405281
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411085815309/77405281.mp3)

　　Sparklehorse并没有太多的实验性，这首歌中间的即兴吉他噪音于是显得很吸引人。我们从中可以听出即使是这种神经质的噪音表达，Sparklehorse也不会简单地只是一股脑儿地发泄，显得相对优雅和脱俗。

2000 - distorted ghost [ep]-complet\my yoke is heavy
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49383&yz=63384633
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411081208066/63384633.mp3)

　　这首歌并不算吵，但是吉他和贝司还有鼓的riff重合在一起，让Sparklehorse少有地给了耳膜沉沉的压迫感，就像这首歌的歌名那样让人感到heavy。还有一首类似的是Dog door，不过那主要是利用效果器做出来的重压。

2001 - gold day[ep]1 - gold day
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49388&yz=37540514
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411082323007/37540514.mp3)

　　无论从异常丰富而温暖的音色、音效，还是从歌名、歌词以及乐曲旋律散发的情绪上来说，这首歌都应该是“温暖”的代名词。Gold Day,多美好而暖和的意象啊。更神奇的是，我们的确在Gold Day里面听出这样充满晃动的阳光的奇想世界。事实上，在很多时候它已经是我的慰藉。听到歌曲开头那声温暖动人的“Goodmorning my child, stay with me a while”，一个人最好幸福地流流眼泪。

2001 - gold day[ep]4 - maxine
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49394&yz=32940928
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411083422415/32940928.mp3)

　　这首长达10分33秒的安静的纯器乐作品完全诠释了Sparklehorse的对sparkle的理解，异常醉人。

Wish You Were Here
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49311&yz=96316905
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411082322410/96316905.mp3)

　　我知道两首叫Wish You Were Here的歌，一首是Pink Floyd的，一首是Blackmore's Night的。前者过于流俗，后者也太明亮，都体会不到什么离愁别绪的悲痛感。这首由Sparklehorse重新演绎的Pink Floyd作品给我的感觉则是一个人在不知名的小道上黯然伤神，挪着乏力的步子，四周光影斑驳，空气在慢悠悠地晃动，或者旋转，或者根本无所谓。事实上，有哪一首Sparklehorse的作品不是这样充满奇异想象和阴郁压抑的气质呢。

2001 - It's a Wonderful Life4 - Sea of Teeth
　　这一次，晃动的是波光粼粼的海面。

2001_It's_a_Wonderful_Life5-Apple Bed
　　这一次，晃动闪烁的是苹果。

2001_It's_a_Wonderful_Life6-King of Nails
　　这一次，晃动闪烁的是钉子。

2001_It's_a_Wonderful_Life7-Eyepennies
　　这一次，硬币？

2001 - It's a Wonderful Life9 - More Yellow Birds
　　这一次，飞鸟。

2001_It's_a_Wonderful_Life\10-Little Fat Babies
　　这一次，胖乎乎的婴儿……
　　有没有发现，Sparklehorse很喜欢用婴儿做歌曲和封面的主题——即使是玩具娃娃。

　　其实，It's a Wonderful Life里面每一首都非常动听和突出，无法一一细说，只好打个包上传给大家自己回去慢慢听了。（暂时上传不成功……）

最后一首：
1995 - vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot9.little bastard choo choo
http://www.51bak.com/getfile.aspx?id=49400&yz=48461801
(ftp://org:org@219.153.10.109/200411/08/200411084238959/48461801.mp3)

　　这一首，已经是晃动的声音采样了。

我们用耳朵听完之后，再用眼睛看。
我们用心感触完，再用理性来讨论。

开始!

所有歌词来源: http://www.sing365.com

Homecoming Queen
   ------Sparklehorse

a horse, a horse
my kingdom for a horse
rattling on magnetic fields

yes I did use up
the last box of sparklers
before they went bad
got wet or decayed

homecoming queen, homecoming queen

teeth what were sharp
is ground down and dumb
my crooked spine becoming more brittle
what once grew straight
and tall t'ward the sun
is absorbing back down
to dirt like a sponge

homecoming queen, homecoming queen
homecoming queen, homecoming queen

Saturday
   ------Sparklehorse

you are a car
you are a hospital
I'd walk to hell and back
to see you smile
on Saturday

you are a star
you are a sea of air
I play great keyboards
of horses' teeth
on Saturday
on Saturday

I'd like to tell you
how I feel
I'll probably keep it
'til Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday

Saint Mary
   ------Sparklehorse

blanket me sweet nurse
and keep me from burnin'
I must get back
to the woods dear girls
I must get back to the woods

in the bloody elevator rising for their first cup of tea
of the day
when does sky turn into space
and air into wind?

the only things
I really need
is water, a gun, and rabbits

let me rest
my fevered cheek
upon your warm sweet bellies

in the bloody elevator going to the bright theater now
come on boys
please let me taste the clean dirt in my lungs
and moss on my back

Pig
   ------Sparklehorse

p-i-g, oh, p-i-g

why don't you sing me that
pretty lullaby
then when you're singing great
pack it all up

I wanna new face right now
and I want it bad
I wanna new body that's strong
I'm a butchered cow

I wanna try and fly
I wanna try and die
I wanna be a pig
I wanna fuck a car

I wanna new face right now
and I want it bad
I wanna new body that's strong
I'm a butchered cow

I wanna be a stupid and shallow mutherfucker now
I wanna be a tough skinned bitch but I don't know how
I wanna be a shiny new baby with a spongy brain
I wanna be a horse fill of fire what will never reign

My Yoke Is Heavy
   ------Sparklehorse

(Daniel Dale Johnston)

in clusters we move through a farm
somewhere far off the thunder roaring
and the fortune teller has fixed her sweetly eyes on my child

sometimes I climb high up in a tree
and let the wind blow in my face
sometimes I leave my cares lying in piles

somewhat disturbing
is the sound of her singing
when you know you don't deserve it

you're not here today
I feel just like an empty eggshell
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

my voice is a little horse
galloping lost through the woods
calling your name

it's new to me
but just the same
the earth is an old canvas painted over many times

the poet rambles
the world it scrambles
but who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men

your shadow knows
it's right behind you all the way
your shadow knows where you've been

my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

sacred is the smile
that opened up my mind
and asked me come save me
and rid my cold cold heart
of the dark deep gloom
that took up so much room
and my many spacious memories

my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

Gold Days
   ------Sparklehorse

good morning my child
stay with me a while
you not got any place to be
won't you sit a spell with me

you've got diamonds for eyes
it's time for you to rise
and evaporate
in the sun
sometimes it can weigh
a ton

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child

a necklace of leaves
spirits in the trees
and drown all the clocks 'til there's none
little ambient in the sun

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child

ha-ah, ha-ah, ha-ah, hah-ahh

good morning my child
stay with me a while
and evaporate in the sun
sometimes it can weigh a ton

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child

Happy Man
   ------Sparklehorse

if I had
if I had more
more would be laid at your feet

if you give me
just a little smile
the dogs on my trail wouldn't drag me back to jail

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man

I've seen teeth
across the horizon
fangs spanning yellow against the earth

there ain't nothing, yeah but ghosts
fever, rabbit dreams and drunken boats

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man
all I want
all I want
all I want
all I want

It's A Wonderful Life
   ------Sparklehorse

I am
the only one
can ride that horse
th'yonder

I'm full of bees
who died at sea

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

I wore
a rooster's blood
when it flew
like doves
I'm a bog
of poisoned frogs

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

I'm the dog that ate
your birthday cake

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

Sea Of Teeth
   ------Sparklehorse

can you feel the wind of venus on your skin?
can you taste the crush of a sunset's dying blush?
stars will always hand in summer's bleeding veils

can you feel the rings of saturn on your finger?
can you taste the ghosts who shed their creaking hosts?
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil

stars will always hand in summer's bleeding veils
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil

Apple Bed
   ------Sparklehorse

of horses wet
with melted ice
they would not heed
my advice
and burdened limbs
of its weight
to break and rot
a whispered fate

please
doctor, please

around me
in a bloody sea
to breach the hive
and smoke the bees
you can be my friend
you can be my dog
you can be my life
you can be my fog

please
doctor, please

the witches will return to their sticky tree knots
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun coming down

I wish I had
a horse's head
a tiger's heart
an apple bed

King Of Nails
   ------Sparklehorse

the toothless kiss of skeletons
and the summer hail
I'm the king of nails

I drink my liquor from the palm
of a child who spoke in tongues
and smelled like sun

give all your leaves
to the ghosts in the trees
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

and blood was rushing up the stairs
I shut my eyes and killed the cock
when the sun came knocking
oh to taste the salty oil
of your chest and on your eyes
when the sting is on the rise

sleep in the fire
with snakes I have sired
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

I drink my liquor from the palm
of a child who spoke in tongues
and smelled like sun

the toothless kiss of skeletons
and the summer hail
I'm the king of nails

give all your leaves
to the ghosts in the trees
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

sleep in the fire
with snakes I have sired
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

Little Fat Baby
   ------Sparklehorse

did you save your wisdom teeth?
did you burn your christmas tree?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the dust and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

did you lose your [fatty?] in the bath?
did you make the city slickers laugh?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the glass and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

did you burn your wisdom teeth?
did you save your christmas tree?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the switches and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

　　赫赫，这么怪异的歌词在Sparklehorse的主脑Mark Linkous看来其实可能只是信手拈来。不是他天生神经质的意思，而是他在Virginia的农场生活，家里养了两匹马，还有狗，猫，海龟，蝾螈……而他妻子就是个爬虫学家。这样的话，歌词里面出现马、牛、猪、驴、青蛙、狼、丛林、树叶、太阳等等是理所当然的，而幻想把马的一排牙齿当琴键来弹（Saturday）、责令猪给自己唱催眠曲（Pig）也不算很过分吧，或许还可以称为执拗的童真……有意思的是，牙齿、血这些标志肉体生长和腐朽的东西，还有种种恶心的死亡，也不断地出现在Mark充满童真的幻想王国里。他不时幻想自己的衰老（Homecomming Queen），也给自己设计各种身份的死亡——有时候是满布毒蛙的沼泽（It's a Wonderful Life），有时候是被屠宰的菜牛（Pig），有时候甚至是漂浮在海上任蜜蜂叮咬的死尸（It's a Wonderful Life），肺里积满泥土，背上长满苔藓（Saint Mary）。——这让人不禁联想到对尸体有特殊癖好的死亡金属宗师Carcass，可是他们的音乐审美情趣是那样的截然不同。——Mark也描述自然界没有半点商量余地的新陈代谢、新老交替，就连不死的太阳和大海也是一样无聊和无奈地表现得周而复始。

　　我想，他的情结是流逝。他感到无奈，感到压抑得压抑得喘不过气（My Yoke Is Heavy），感到自己苍白无力，进而在他一个人的想象里安排各种小场景来嘲弄臭皮囊的脆弱，甚至编造各种自虐式的死亡来唾弃自己的肉身，更从来不吝于用最恶毒最低俗的语言斥骂自己（Pig）。——我们不要误以为这种情绪是Sparklehorse独有的，Mark早期受bluegrass和country影响比较大，这使他能很好地驾驭旋律和缓慢的节奏，但是后来毕竟接受了朋克的洗礼，用上诸如Mutherfucker一类的词自己把自己臭骂一通算不得什么。不过注意，Mark Linkous不是把死亡视为美丽的唯美极端，他是恋生的，他渴望得到新生，渴望拥有一个脱离了原来的污浊和脆弱的崭新的完美之身。这跟Radiohead的Creep里面说的"I don't care if it hurts, I want to have control. I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul" 就是同一码事。他梦想着"float like a feather in a beautiful world" ——在他的童话王国里，他是"the only one can ride that horse th'yonder"（It's a Wonderful World）。

　　而Sparklehorse之所以成为Sparklehorse，特别就特别在Mark谋求通过奇幻的超自然循环得到某种诡异的重生——譬如被马吞进肚子里（Happy man）！这是怎样令人吃惊的奇想啊！明白他为什么对新生婴儿、对儿童情有独衷了吗？新生孩童就是他自己，就是他的寄托，他为之祝福（Gold Day）、馈赠宝石也就是自己给自己加冕。当然，这不是说他一定就那么幼稚那么痴迷地执行着可笑的计划，而是说他的偏好、取向、审美里头可能有这么个线索。最终，在歌词里，Mark还是看到自己其实永远也跳不出这种循环，一切都没有意义——the earth is an old canvas painted over many times。所有匪夷所思的奇想又回归于虚无。你听，他的音乐也是慢慢地流逝，在晃动，波光粼粼的（Sea of Teeth）。

　　我看到形容Sparklehorse的音乐的文字里有这样一个词——eccentric。我想，这种古怪和偏执其实不必看歌词、不必了解Mark的故事就可以从他的音乐听出来了，那个想象力好得坏掉的家伙用音乐已经足以把这个奇幻王国驻扎在你的脑子里。太在意他的内容主题，反而失掉了音乐和你自己的想象力，而这种音乐正是要让你的想象飞起来。（那么，我们再翻到前面来听音乐，回到抑郁的心情，怎么样？）

p.s.
如果真想了解音乐背后的资料，也不要到Sparklehorse的官方网站www.sparklehorse.com，因为那里的东西少得可怜，Mark似乎并不够关注他活在现实中的乐队。

而图文资料最全的应该是它的一个fansite：www.sparklehorse.org。