My parents used to give me money to eat

我大約在十二歲時迷上了唱片。

and on most days, instead of eating,

我父母以前會給我吃飯錢，

I would save it and buy myself a record at the end of the week.

大部分的日子，我沒去吃飯，

Here I am with a gigantic Walkman that's about half my leg --

而是把錢存下來， 在一週結束時為自己買張唱片。

(Laughter)

這是我，帶著有我腿 一半大的巨大型隨身聽——

It actually looks more like a VCR.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

它看起來其實更像錄放影機。

So when I was a teenager,

（笑聲）

the obsession of buying cassettes, vinyls and CDs just kept growing.

我到了青少年時期，

I was even working in a record store for many years

對於購買錄音帶、黑膠唱片、 CD 的迷戀仍然持續上長。

and only ever got paid in records.

我甚至在一個唱片店裡工作了許多年，

One day I realized that I had thousands of records more

且我得到的只有唱片，沒有薪水。

than I could even listen to in my life.

有天，我發現我有數千張的唱片，

I became what many of us are:

這樣的數量，我一輩子都聽不完。

record junkies --

我變成和許多人一樣的：

or record diggers, as we like to call ourselves.

唱片成癮者——

Record digging, as the name suggests,

或者說是唱片挖掘者， 我們喜歡以此自稱。

means getting your hands dirty.

唱片挖掘，正如其名，

It means spending hours rummaging through warehouses,

就是要讓你親手下去挖。

church basements,

這表示你要花數小時翻找唱片， 搜索地點包括倉庫、

yard sales, record stores --

教堂地下室、

all to find records that have been forgotten for decades.

庭院拍賣、唱片行——

Records that have become cultural waste.

目的就是要找到 被遺忘了數十年的唱片。

The earliest record collectors from about the '30s to the 1960s

已變成文化廢棄物的唱片。

found and preserved so many important records

最早期大約三十年代 到六十年代的唱片收藏家

that would have been lost forever.

發現並保存了好多重要的唱片，

In those days, most cultural and public institutions

若不是他們，就會永久失傳。

didn't really care to preserve these treasures.

在那時候，大部分的 文化和公共機構團體

In many cases, they were just throwing them into the garbage.

並不在乎這些寶藏的保存。

Record digging is a lifestyle.

在許多情況中， 他們就把唱片丟進垃圾堆去了。

We're absolutely obsessed with obscure records,

唱片挖掘是一種生活方式。

expensive records, dollar-bin records,

我們完完全全迷上鮮為人知的唱片、

crazy artwork,

昂貴的唱片、dollar-bin （二手唱片店）的唱片、

sub-subgenres.

瘋狂的藝術作品、

And all of the tiniest details that go with each release.

子類別。

When the media talks about the vinyl revival

以及每張發行專輯的 所有最細微之細節。

that's been happening these last few years,

當媒體談到這些年重新流行起來的

they often forget to mention this community

黑膠唱片時，

that's been keeping the vinyl and the tradition and the culture alive

他們通常都會忘記提到這個社群，

for these last 30 years.

過去三十年間，是這個社群 讓黑膠唱片以及傳統和文化

It's a very close-knit but competitive society, a little bit,

能持續存活著。

because when you're hunting for extremely rare records,

它是個結合非常緊密， 但有點競爭性的族群，

if you miss your opportunity,

因為我們是在獵尋極度稀有的唱片，

you might not see that record ever in your life.

如果你錯失你的機會，

But I guess the only person in here truly impressed by record collectors

你可能一生都不會看到那張唱片了。

is another record collector.

但我猜想，這裡唯一會真正 對唱片收藏家感到佩服的人，

To the outside world,

是本身也收集唱片的人。

we seem like a very weird, oddball group of individuals.

對於外面的世界，

And --

我們似乎是非常奇異古怪的一群人。

(Laughter)

而且——

And they're mostly right.

（笑聲）

All the record collectors I know are obsessive maniacs.

且他們通常是對的。

We know we're all crazy in some way.

我認識的所有唱片收藏家 都是執著的狂人。

But I think we should be viewed a little bit more like this.

我們都知道我們在 某種層面上是很瘋狂的。

(Laughter)

但我認為我們更應該 被看作是這樣:

We're music archaeologists.

（笑聲）

We're hunting down the lost artifact.

我們是音樂考古學家。

We all have a list of records that we would do anything to get our hands on,

我們在獵尋失落的工藝品。

that we've been chasing for years,

我們都有張清單，

and we actually call this list our "holy grails."

上面的唱片是我們願不計代價取得的，

When you're digging for records,

是我們尋找多年的，

you're surrounded by music you don't know.

我們把這清單稱為我們的「聖杯」。

You're surrounded by mystery and by all these dreams --

當你在挖掘唱片時，

records that people once believed in.

你被你不認識的音樂圍繞著。

Imagine the thousands of artists who were destined to be legends

你被神秘感以及所有 這些夢想給圍繞著——

but for various reasons, were just overlooked.

這些是人們曾經相信的唱片。

Many of these records only exist in a handful of copies,

想像一下，數千名注定 成為傳奇的藝術家，

and some have never even been found,

卻因為各種理由而被忽略了。

never been heard.

裏頭有許多現在只剩下幾張唱片了，

They're literally endangered species.

有些從來沒有被找到，

I'll tell you a story

從來沒有被聽過。

that for me sort of sums up the value of the work of record diggers.

它們真可說是瀕臨絕種。

The story of a brilliant Montreal musician and composer.

讓我說個故事，

Henri-Pierre Noël was born and raised in Haiti,

對我而言，這個故事總結出了 唱片挖掘者所做的事的價值。

but he lived briefly in the US and in Belgium.

故事主角是一位聰明的 蒙特婁音樂家兼作曲家。

He passed through Montreal what was supposed to be for two weeks,

亨利皮耶諾爾在海地出生和長大，

but he ended up staying for the next 40 years.

但他在美國及比利時 住過短暫的時間。

When he was young, he learned to play piano

他經過蒙特婁， 本來應該只要停留兩週，

and developed a very particular way of playing his instrument:

但結果，他一待就待了四十年。

very fast and almost like a percussion.

他年輕時學過鋼琴，

His style was a mix of his Haitian influences and folklore

並自己開發出了一種 很特別的樂器彈奏方式：

mixed with the American influences that he grew up hearing.

非常快速，幾乎就像打擊樂器。

So he created a mix of compas mixed with funk and jazz.

他的風格混合了海地的影響和民俗，

As a young man,

加上他成長過程聽到的美國影響。

he played and toured with live bands in the US and in Europe,

所以他創造了一種 基本律動與放克和爵士的混合。

but had never recorded an album or a song before moving to Canada.

年輕時，

It was in Montreal in 1979

他和現場樂團一同 在美國及歐洲巡迴表演，

that he released his first album called, "Piano."

但在搬到加拿大之前 從未錄製過一張專輯或一首歌。

Completely on his own, on Henri-Pierre Noël Records.

1979 年，在蒙特婁，

He only made what he could afford: 2,000 copies of the record.

他發行了他的首張專輯《鋼琴》。

The record received a little bit of airplay,

完全靠自己，以亨利皮耶諾爾 唱片公司的名字獨立發行。

a little bit of support in Canada and in Haiti,

他只能負擔得起發行兩千張。

but without a big label behind it,

那張唱片有少數被電台播放的機會，

it was very, very difficult.

在加拿大和海地得到一點點的支持，

Back then,

但背後沒有大唱片公司，

if your record wasn't getting played on mainstream radio,

是非常非常艱困的。

if you weren't in jukeboxes or if you weren't invited to play on TV,

那時，

the odds were completely against you.

若你的唱片沒有在主流電台播放，

Releasing an album as an independent artist

若沒有在自動點唱機中， 若沒有人邀請你去電視上演出，

was so much more difficult than it is today,

你成功的可能性就很低。

both in terms of being heard and just distributing the thing.

以獨立藝術家的身份來發行專輯

So, soon after, he released a second album,

在那時比現在困難很多很多，

kept a busy schedule playing piano in various clubs in the city,

在被大眾聽到方面， 以及單純發行方面都是如此。

but his records started to accumulate dust slowly.

所以，在他發行了 第二張專輯之後沒多久，

And those 2,000 copies in the span of 30 years

忙碌地在城市內的 各個俱樂部演奏鋼琴，

easily started to get lost

但他的唱片開始慢慢地累積灰塵。

until only a few copies in the world remained.

在三十年間，那兩千張專輯

Then in the mid-2000s,

很容易就開始被遺失，

a Montreal record digger that goes by the name Kobal

直到全世界僅剩下幾張還存在。

was doing his weekly rounds of just hunting for records.

在 21 世紀頭十年中期，

He was in a flea market

在蒙特婁，一位名叫 柯白爾的唱片挖掘者

surrounded by thousands of other dirty, dusty, moldy records.

在進行他每週例行的唱片獵尋。

That's where he found the "Piano" album.

他到了一個跳蚤市場，

He wasn't specifically looking for it.

被一大堆骯髒、滿佈灰塵、 發霉的唱片所包圍。

Actually, you could say it sort of found him.

在那裡，他找到了《鋼琴》專輯。

You could also say that after 20 years of record digging every single week,

他的本意並非去找那張專輯。

he had developed a sixth sense for finding the gold.

事實上，你可以說 是那張專輯找到他的。

He took the record and inspected it:

也可以說，在持續二十年 每週都去挖掘唱片之後，

the front, the artwork, the back, the liner notes,

他已經發展出了找到金礦的第六感。

and he was intrigued by the fact that this Haitian musician made a record

他拿著唱片並檢查它：

in Quebec in the late '70s,

正面、藝術設計、 背面、封套說明文字，

so he was intrigued.

他感到很好奇， 這位海地音樂家在七十年代末

He took out his little, plastic, portable turntable

在魁北克製作了一張唱片，

that he brought with him whenever he was on these digging quests

他的好奇心被激起了。

and put the record on.

他拿出了他只要去挖寶時

So why don't we do the same thing?

都會隨身攜帶的可攜式 小型塑膠唱機轉盤，

(Music)

並把唱片放上去。

He fell in love with the music instantly,

我們也來做相同的事吧。

but he had to know the backstory behind it.

（音樂）

He didn't know where it came from.

他馬上愛上了這音樂，

He knew the artist,

但他得要知道它背後的故事。

at the time of the recording,

它不知道它是打哪兒來的。

was living in Montreal,

他知道這位藝術家

so for months, he tried to track him down.

在錄音的時候

He even found Noël's business card inside the record sleeve.

是住在蒙特婁的，

That's how DIY Henri-Pierre Noël was.

所以他花了數個月的時間去追蹤他。

So he found the card inside the record sleeve --

他甚至在唱片套內 找到了諾爾的名片。

of course he did try to call,

亨利皮耶諾爾就是 這麼「自己動手做」。

but after 30 years, the number didn't work anymore.

他在唱片套內找到了名片——

So it was only in Belgium,

當然，他試著打電話去，

where the artist had once lived,

但過了三十年，那個號碼已失效。

that Kobal managed to find someone that knew the artist personally

只有在比利時， 那位藝術家曾經住過的地方，

and gave him the contact.

柯白爾才找到了認識 那位藝術家本人的人，

So when he finally sat down with the artist,

並給了他聯絡方式。

he made him a promise to someday find a way to get the album rereleased.

所以，當他終於與 那位藝術家見面坐下談，

He then arranged for a British label called Wah Wah 45s

他向他做了一個保證：有一天， 會找到方法來發行這張專輯。

to get the two albums reissued.

他接著安排了一家英國唱片公司， 叫 Wah Wah 45s，

And what happens very often is,

將兩張專輯重新發行。

in these reissue projects,

在這類重新發行的計畫中

that it becomes very difficult to find the master tapes --

很常見的狀況是，

the original recording of the sessions.

非常難找到母帶——

Art can be destroyed by fires, floods, earthquakes,

用來做拷貝的原始錄音。

thrown in the garbage,

藝術有可能會被火災、 水災、地震給摧毀，

or just lost forever.

或是丟到垃圾筒，

But thankfully,

因而永遠遺失。

the Henri-Pierre Noël tapes were safe

但，謝天謝地，

and they were ready for remastering.

亨利皮耶諾爾的母帶很安全，

The record was finally rereleased

它們都可以拿來重新灌製了。

and received praise from music critics, DJs and listeners worldwide --

唱片終於被發行，

the praise that it should have received in 1979.

得到了全世界音樂評論家、 DJ、聽眾的讚賞——

The artist was so inspired that he decided to revive his music career,

它早在 1979 年就該得到這些讚賞的。

get back on a stage, and play for new audiences.

這位藝術家受到很大的鼓舞， 決定重新開始他的音樂職涯、

The artist, now in his 60s,

回到舞台上，為新觀眾演出。

told me, "This changed everything for me.

這位藝術家現在已經六十幾歲了，

I went from planning my retirement

他告訴我：「這改變了我的一切。

to playing on the BBC Radio in London, and on Radio Canada and more."

我從規劃退休轉變成

But also it gave him a chance to play

在倫敦 BBC 電台、加拿大廣播公司， 及許多其他廣播電台演出。」

in front of his three sons for the first time.

他也因此有機會可以初次

To me, this story shows perfectly the work of record diggers at its best.

在他的三個兒子面前演出。

Beyond the rarity and the dollar value --

對我而言，這個故事完美呈現出了 唱片挖掘者的工作的理想狀況。

and I'll be honest, we're totally obsessed by that --

在稀有度和金錢價值之外——

the true beauty is to give art a second chance;

老實說，我們非常重視那些——

to save art from oblivion.

真正美麗之處在於 給予藝術第二次機會；

The work of a good record digger is a constant loop of three phases.

拯救藝術，讓它不被遺忘。

The first thing we do is hunt.

好的唱片挖掘者，工作的方式 是採用三步驟的迴圈。

We spend hours, days, years of our lives

我們做的第一件事是獵尋。

rummaging through dirty and dusty record bins.

我們花費人生中幾小時、 幾天、幾年的時間，

Everything that we can do to find our hands on the gold.

在骯髒滿佈灰塵的唱片倉中翻找。

Yes, you can find good records online,

我們會盡一切可能， 希望能親手找到金礦。

but for the deepest treasures,

是的，你可以上網找到好唱片，

you need to get off the couch and into the wild.

但要找到最深的寶藏，

That's why we call it record digging and not record clicking.

你得要離開沙發， 進入未開發的荒野。

(Laughter)

那就是為什麼我們稱之為 唱片挖掘，而不是唱片點選。

So what we are is music archaeologists.

（笑聲）

But then the next thing we do is we gather.

所以，我們是音樂的考古學家。

Based on our taste, expertise, personal agenda,

但我們接下來做的事情，是採集。

we choose carefully which records to save,

依據我們的口味、專長、個人目的，

which records mean something to us.

我們會小心挑選要保留哪些唱片，

We then try and find out every little thing we can about that record --

哪些唱片對我們有意義。

the artist, the label

接著，我們試著找出關於 那張唱片的所有瑣碎資訊——

and supervital information

藝術家、唱片公司，

like "Who's that playing trumpet on track three?"

以及超重要的資訊，

Then we file them, we contextualize them,

像是「第三曲的喇叭是誰演奏的？」

and we keep them safe.

接著我們會把它們建檔、脈絡化，

We are music archivists.

並確保它們的安全。

And the last thing we do to close the loop is we share.

我們是音樂檔案保管員。

Most record diggers that I know have some sort of a way

完成迴圈的最後一件事，就是分享。

to share their discovery and elevate the artist

我所知道的大部分 唱片挖掘者都有某種方式

through an album reissue,

來分享他們的發現，並透過

a web article, a radio show.

專輯重新發行、網路文章、

We give records back their rightful place in music history.

廣播節目，來宣傳該藝術家。

We are tastemakers and curators.

我們幫唱片找回它們 在音樂史上應有的地位。

We are musicologists.

我們是時髦風尚之開創者及策展人。

So for myself

我們是音樂學家。

and most of the record collectors I've encountered in 20 years,

對我自己以及這二十年間

I think that we all have some sort of an outlet

我所遇到的大部分唱片收藏家而言，

for these discoveries.

我想，針對我們的發現，我們都有

I think it's our way to keep our sanity and sort of sense of purpose

某種銷路管道。

in this very maddening obsession,

我想，在我們這麼狂的迷戀當中，

because it can be sort of a lonely one.

那是種保持理智和使命感的方式，

But I think we also do it because it serves the human need

因為它其實還蠻孤獨的。

to pass along cultural knowledge.

但我認為，我們去做的理由 也是因為它能滿足人類

Speaking of the need for curation,

需要把文化知識傳下去的需求。

in an era of overwhelming choice,

說到對策展的需求，

it's been demonstrated

在一個選擇太多的時代中，

that too much choice actually hinders discovery.

我們已經知道

For example,

太多的選擇其實對於發掘是個阻礙。

if you're trying to watch something on Netflix,

比如，

you're actually only browsing through a catalog of 6,000 titles.

如果你想在 Netflix 上找影片看，

Now, compare that with Spotify;

你只是快速掃視過了 六千個片名的目錄。

if you want to pick something to listen to,

把它和 Spotify 做個比較，

you're browsing through a catalog of 30 million songs.

如果你想要找音樂來聽，

So I think as you can see,

你要看過三千萬條歌的目錄。

this notion of paralysis by choice

不難理解，

affects music more than movies,

選擇造成癱瘓的這個概念

for example.

對音樂的影響高於電影，

And there's a few studies

舉例而言。

that are starting to show the effects of this.

有幾篇研究

A recent look at the UK music market

談及這狀況造成的效應。

shows that the top one percent of artists in the UK are actually earning 77 percent

近期有篇關於英國音樂市場的探討，

of the total revenues inside the music industry.

指出在英國音樂產業中， 前 1% 的藝術家所賺的錢

That's 2013,

就佔了產業總利潤的 77%。

and that's progressively getting worse,

那是 2013 年的資料，

or progressing.

且這個利潤百分比在日漸變糟，

Anyway, if you're in the one percent, I'm sure you're happy.