朴樹 享受音樂的獨立人 An independent spirit

It is almost impossible for a singer to stay out of the spotlight and away from the tabloids, while still remaining popular. Pu Shu, 41, managed to, though. Twelve years since his last album, he is back with an EP, a national tour and more applause.

對於一位遠離聚光燈及八卦新聞的歌手來說，想持續走紅基本不可能。然而，41歲的朴樹卻做到了。上張唱片發佈十二年後，他終於回來了，帶着最新專輯和全國巡演，收穫了（無數歌迷的）掌聲。

The new EP Be Good (《好好地》) was released “independently” earlier this month. In other words, Pu and his studio made and promoted the EP by themselves, without working with a big record company. Since 2009, he has been working to regain control over his music and break away from “industry rules”.

10月初，他的最新專輯《好好地》“獨立”發行。這也就是說，朴樹和他的工作室在沒有與大唱片公司合作的情況下，獨立製作並推出了這張專輯。2009年後，他一直努力重新主導自己的音樂，希望能擺脫“行業規則”。

“Making music independently is a cool thing... [but] only the people who are involved know the hardship... Most of the time, I felt lonely and helpless, not having a clue about what to do next,” he wrote on Weibo recently.

在最近的一篇長微博上，他寫道：“獨立做音樂說來是很酷的……但那艱難只有自己知道……很多時候，我感到孤立無援，不知該怎麼辦。”

He admitted that, to produce ideal work, he sometimes “went insane, with all his senses distorted and judgment lost”.

他承認，製作出完美作品的念頭有時會令他“瘋狂到知覺扭曲，判斷全失”。

Pu’s stardom was established with his 1999 album I Go to 2000 (《我去2000年》) and his 2003 album Born Like a Summer Flower (《生如夏花》). His nostalgic lyrics, distinct voice and cool appearance made him a spokesman for folk music at that time.

1999年的專輯《我去2000年》和2003年的《生如夏花》奠定了朴樹在樂壇的地位。懷舊的歌詞，獨特的聲線和酷炫的外形，讓朴樹一度成爲民謠音樂的代言人。

He didn’t release any new work until last year–an EP entitled The Road to Ordinary (《平凡之路》), which doubled as the theme song for Han Han’s first film The Continent (《後會無期》). Since then, however, Pu’s songs have failed to match his former glory. The new EP Be Good scored only 6.2 out of 10 on Douban.

然而之後朴樹卻一直沒有新作品問世，直到去年發佈了迷你專輯《平凡之路》。其中的同名主打歌《平凡之路》也是韓寒導演的第一部電影《後會無期》的主題曲。此後，朴樹的歌都未能重現他往日的輝煌。新專輯《好好地》的豆瓣評分僅爲6.2分（10分滿分）。

But the tepid critical response hasn’t dulled Pu’s popularity.

儘管新專輯的反響平平，卻絲毫沒有影響朴樹的人氣。

He made the first two stops on his national tour on Oct 17 and Oct 24, in Beijing and Shanghai respectively. The shows were a huge success. Tickets were sold out. Wearing a T-shirt and holding a guitar, Pu sang throughout the entire show, without stopping to change clothes or stage designs. It is this sense of authenticity that earns Pu his die-hard fans. In a music industry where commercial value trumps all, he stands apart.

10月17日和10月24日，朴樹分別在北京和上海舉行了他的前兩場全國巡演。演出獲得了巨大的成功，演唱會門票一售而空。穿着T恤，抱着吉他，朴樹全程都在唱歌，中途沒有換裝，也沒有華麗的舞臺佈景。就是這股真實勁兒爲朴樹贏得了不少死忠粉。現在的音樂行業，商業價值高於一切，而朴樹特立獨行。

Pu isn’t content with the publicity side of music industry, either. “I saw the cover of my single On Jupiter (《在木星》) and the public release, and I was told it is the industry standard, otherwise no one would listen to it. I was furious,” he wrote on Weibo. “I understand that people should be able to do what they think is right. But I just want to follow my heart.”

朴樹對音樂界的宣傳方式也不滿意。他曾在微博上寫道：“看到了《在木星》的單曲封面，看到了這個行業標準模式的宣傳通稿，我被告知，這是這個行業的規律，不如此就沒有人看沒有人聽。我怒不可遏。”“我知道人們有權做他們認爲正確的事兒，但我只想聽從我的內心。”

That’s a cliché many people have repeated, but few have truly lived by. Maybe that’s why fans choose to support Pu. They hope Pu can succeed at forging his own path.

這已是陳詞濫調，卻鮮少有人能真正做到。這大概就是粉絲選擇支持他的原因。他們希望朴樹走出自己的路，並收穫成功。