盒式磁帶在英美國家再度流行

First LPs and record players made a comeback – now the cassette tape is rewinding back into our lives.
起先是密紋唱片和唱機的重新流行，如今盒式磁帶也回到了我們的生活。

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，盒式磁帶被CD取代；近幾年CD又被數字下載取代。但如今，盒式磁帶又重新成爲了大西洋兩岸音樂愛好者們的熱門選擇。

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.
盒式磁帶容易卡帶和纏進機器裏，令人抓狂，也曾因此一度衰敗，但是人們對老磁帶的懷舊情緒卻日益濃厚。

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.
在美國，盒式磁帶的銷量一路飆升，這促使美國唱片業協會自上世紀90年代初以來首度開始追蹤盒式磁帶的銷售數據。美國唱片業協會是代表美國唱片業的貿易團體，同時它也負責金唱片和白金唱片的認證。

It is thought the revival was started by underground music acts. But now, more mainstream musicians have started producing albums on cassette again.
有人認爲，磁帶的復興是由地下音樂團體發起的。但是現在，越來越多的主流音樂人開始製作磁帶形式的專輯。

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，英國歌手美鑽瑪琳娜出的新專輯《果漾繽紛》就是磁帶形式。美國頂級明星們也出了磁帶形式的唱片，包括賈斯汀·比伯的最新專輯《目的》和坎耶·維斯特的《耶穌》。這些專輯在Urban Outfitters這類時尚連鎖店均有售賣，網上也有貨源。同時，英國舞蹈音樂公司Hypnohouse Trax也以磁帶形式推出了他們的合集。

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 2015.
盒式磁帶在英國或許能成爲第二個黑膠唱片。2007年，黑膠唱片的銷量跌至20.5萬張，但從那以後，其銷量開始逐年攀升；2015年更是達到了二十年來的最高記錄——210萬張。

The Oxford English Dictionary dropped ‘cassette player’ from its concise edition in 2011. It now seems this may have been premature.
2011年，《牛津簡明英語詞典》刪除了“卡式錄音機”這一詞條。如今看來，此舉似乎爲時過早。

And Sony stopped producing its iconic Walkman portable cassette player in 2010, although other brands, such as Philips, still make them.
2010年，索尼宣佈其標誌性的便攜式卡帶音樂播放器（隨身聽）停產。不過飛利浦等其他品牌還在生產。

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.
伯格唱片公司是一個獨立唱片製作團體，位於洛杉磯郊區奧蘭治縣。它的聯合創始人，32歲的李·裏卡德說：“磁帶播放的音樂聽起來有不同的感覺，有時候甚至可以還原音樂的韻味。”

‘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.
“磁帶是結構緊湊的實物，方便即時收藏；音樂內容有序且充滿原始韻味，而且價格只相當於一杯咖啡。這樣你在支持本土藝人時也就不會肉痛了。”

Burger Records has plans to release its own Burger Buddy, which will play tapes as well as convert them to computer-readable MP3 files.
伯格唱片公司計劃推出新產品“伯格好夥伴”。它既能播放磁帶，又能把裏面的音樂轉換成電腦可識別的MP3格式。

Vocabulary

LP: 密紋唱片，Long Playing Record
vinyl: 黑膠唱片