Black Box Recorder
Black Box Recorder included Auteurs main man Luke Haines, former Jesus and Mary Chain member John Moore, and vocalist Sarah Nixey. Like the Auteurs, Black Box Recorder's songs commented on the state of English affairs, both social and personal, often using character sketches that exposed the less-than-pleasant with sharp frankness and simplicity. Domesticity and childhood themes often ran through their albums. Coming together in 1998 as Haines kept his primary vehicle operable, the trio introduced themselves with their first single ("Child Psychology") being banned from U.K. radio for the line "Life is unfair/Kill yourself or get over it."
The full-length England Made Me followed later in the year, establishing Moore and Haines as a songwriting team that excelled at getting its points across with the least amount of instrumentation necessary. Raw and minimal but still perversely pop, Nixey's detached and fragile-yet-rich voice (usually kept up front in the mix) provided the ideal characteristics for their songs. Imagine a sober, somber, dub-influenced version of the Velvet Underground with an elegantly smooth Nico singing on top.
Jumping ship from Chrysalis to Nude for 2000's The Facts of Life, the first single from the album surprisingly went Top 20, providing Haines with the highest chart position of his career. Despite this, Haines made no bones about his disdain for Nude within a week of the chart placement, feeling that they dropped the ball after being handed it on a silver platter. Artistically, The Facts of Life was a superb follow-up, incorporating electronic elements without sounding anything like a trip-hop or Garbage-style dance-rock group. The Worst of Black Box Recorder, a collection of the trio's B-sides, came the following year.
After a lengthy break aided by Nude's downfall, as well as two solo releases from Haines, the group landed on One Little Indian for 2003's Passionoia. WIthout forsaking their knack for subversion, the group returned with their most ornate batch of songs yet, several of which were as poppy as anything recorded by Saint Etienne. Prior to the album's release, Nixey and Moore tied the knot.
It's my primary instinct to protect the child
保护孩子是我基本的本能
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
My dress is torn, my hair is wild
我的衣服是破的,我的头发乱糟糟的
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
My first kiss, my early boyfriend
我的初吻,我以前的男朋友
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
Wet weekends, new years eve parties
潮湿的周末,新年前夕的聚会
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
Hour after hour after hour (x2)
时间过了一小时又一小时……
My 18th birthday, I'll die of boredom
我的18岁生日,我无聊得要死
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
My private world is smashed right open
我的个人空间完全被打破了
Girl singing in the wreckage
残骸上的女孩唱着
My 1st trip, my expectations
我的第一次旅行,我非常期待
I had a dream that it would end like this
我梦想这会是一次
No destiny, No destination
没有事先约定,没有目的地的了旅行
You hit the ground and then it stops
你碰到了地面然后旅行结束了
Hour after hour after hour (x2)
时间过了一小时又一小时……
Hour after hour after hour (x2)
时间过了一小时又一小时……
Hour after hour after hour (x2)
时间过了一小时又一小时……
I miss my hometown, it's nothing special
我想念我的家乡,虽然它并不特别
Call my parents let them know I've arrived
呼喊我的父母,让他们知道我到了
My primary instinct is to protect the child
保护孩子是我基本的本能
Send the postcard from the airport
从机场寄来的的贺卡上写着