10首陰暗沉鬱的死亡之歌(上)

Music is one of the few things in life that is universally enjoyed. The first few notes of our favorite songs are enough to instantly brighten our day. Yet despite the good vibes, the music industry itself is a bit of a horror show. Between songs said to drive the listener mad, murderers citing song lyrics as inspiration, and supposedly cursed pieces of music, it's enough to wipe the smile from anyone's face. Check out these terrifying tales of musical mayhem.

能讓每個人都喜聞樂見的事物不多，音樂便是其中之一。聽到最愛的歌曲的前奏足以讓我們舒心一整天。音樂可以產生正能量，但也能自帶恐怖效果。在那些讓聽者瘋狂的歌曲中，兇手除了把歌詞作爲行兇的靈感之外，據說還有被詛咒的音樂片段，這些足以讓任何人都笑不出來。下面就來看看這些帶有暴力色彩的音樂引發的一系列駭人聽聞的事件。

10 'Suicide Solution'

10.《自殺解脫》——奧茲·奧斯本

On October 26, 1984, John Daniel McCollum was listening to a record by his idol, Ozzy Osbourne. The 19-year-old was lying on his bed, his headphones turning out the tracks. During the final song, "Suicide Solution," the seemingly cheerful teen grabbed a gun and ended his own life.

1984年10月26日，19歲的約翰·丹尼爾·麥卡倫戴着耳機躺在牀上，聽着偶像奧茲·奧斯本的專輯，當播放到專輯最後一首歌《自殺解脫》時，這名平時看似開朗的陽光少年抓起一把槍結束了自己的生命。

McCollum's parents were quick to accuse Osbourne of encouraging their son to commit suicide, claiming that lyrics like, "Suicide is the only way out," had brainwashed him. They took the artist to court in 1986, where Osbourne claimed that the tragedy had been a simple misunderstanding. " 'Solution' as in liquid, not a way out," he explained. "The song's about the dangers of alcoholism."

很快，麥卡倫的父母指控奧斯本煽動他們的兒子自殺，並聲稱自己的兒子被“自殺是唯一的解脫”之類的歌詞洗腦。他們於1986年將這位歌手送上法庭，而奧斯本表示這場悲劇其實是一個小誤會。“‘solution’在歌詞裏指溶液，並非表示一種解脫”，他解釋說：“這首歌實則講述了酗酒的危害。”

The case was dismissed in 1988, but the supposedly evil tune wasn't finished yet. The very same year the McCollums filed their lawsuit, another teen took his own life after listening to the notorious song. The result was another dismissed lawsuit—as well as a bizarre and unsettling pattern.

該案於1988年被駁回，但傳說中的魔鬼之音並未就此結束。同年，麥卡倫夫婦提起訴訟，另有一名少年在聽了這首臭名昭著的歌曲之後自殺身亡。審判再次將起訴駁回，這個結果奇怪又令人不安。

9 'Exit'

9.《出口》——U2

U2's "Exit" tells the dark tale of a religious fanatic turned murderer. Inspired by the story of executed convicted killer Gary Gilmore, it's understandably a bit heavy. But it became even more so following the events of July 18, 1989, when a madman decided the song had ordered him to take a human life.

U2樂隊的歌曲《出口》講述了一個宗教狂熱分子變身殺手的陰暗故事。歌曲的創作受已被處決的殺人犯蓋裏·吉爾摩事件的啓發，勉強算情有可原。但在1989年7月18日之後，問題變得嚴重了，一個精神失常的人認定這首歌驅使他殺人。

Arizona native Robert John Bardo, obsessed with actress Rebecca Schaeffer, stalked her for three years before murdering her outside her apartment building. Later in court, Bardo claimed the lyrics from "Exit" had inspired him to commit the savage point-blank shooting, specifically lines like "pistol weighing heavy." When played during the trial, the normally emotionless Bardo disturbingly lit up, bobbing to the music and mouthing the lyrics.

來自亞利桑那州的羅伯特·約翰·巴多癡迷於女演員麗貝卡·莎佛爾。在跟蹤她三年後，巴多在該女演員的公寓樓外將其殺害。後來在法庭上，巴多稱是歌曲《出口》的歌詞激發了他殘暴射殺的犯罪行爲，尤其是“沉甸甸的手槍”這樣的歌詞。在審判過程中，平時冷漠的巴多躁動起來，隨着音樂擺動身體，嘴裏還哼唱着歌詞。

Luckily, the senseless tragedy wasn't pinned on the band, and Bardo was convicted of first-degree murder. He remains imprisoned—and presumably completely nuts—to this day.

幸運的是，法院沒有把這場突如其來的慘劇歸罪於U2樂隊。巴多被判一級謀殺，他至今仍被囚禁，而且很有可能已經完全瘋了。

8 The Ninth Symphony

8.《第九交響曲》——任何中咒作曲家

For nearly 200 years now, a curse has plagued composers the world over: Soon after completing his ninth symphony, a musician is doomed to die. Despite all logic and rationality, a tenth symphony remains tragically just out of reach for a staggeringly large number of composers.

近200年來，世界各地的作曲家都受到詛咒：在完成第九交響曲後，該作曲家便會不久於人世。儘管一切都不合常理，但第十交響曲對於絕大部分作曲家而言都是可望不可即的。

Beginning with Beethoven's untimely death while penning his tenth in 1827, the curse has since claimed scores of classical musicians, such as Anton Bruckner, Vaughan Williams, and Antonin Dvorak. Of course, it could be argued that the deaths are simply a product of old age. After all, it can take decades to write nine symphonies. But there are also the ridiculously early deaths of Gustav Mahler at 50 of heart failure and Franz Schubert of typhoid at a depressing 31, both after writing their ninth symphonies.

貝多芬於1827年英年早逝，那時他正在創作自己的第十交響曲。自那以後，這個詛咒對許多古典音樂家來說成了一道邁不過去的坎，其中包括安東·布魯克納、沃恩威廉斯以及安東尼·德沃夏克。可能有人認爲作曲家們的死亡是由於年事已高，畢竟，要寫九部交響曲可能需要數十年時間。但有些死亡事件也讓人匪夷所思，如奧地利作曲家古斯塔夫·馬勒，年僅50歲便死於心臟衰竭，弗朗茨·舒伯特在他31歲時因感染傷寒抱憾辭世，以上兩位作曲家均在完成各自的第九交響曲後身亡。

But fear not, would-be music makers, because American composer Philip Glass has recently beaten the dreaded curse. He wrote his tenth before releasing his ninth, just to be safe. It seems to have worked, although an audience member collapsed at number nine's premiere.

但是，想作曲的音樂家們不用害怕，最近美國作曲家飛利浦·格拉斯（Philip Glass）打破了這個可怕的詛咒。爲安全起見，他預先寫好第十交響曲後才正式發佈第九交響曲，這似乎奏效了，不過有一名觀衆在第九交響曲首映式上倒下。

7 'Better By You, Better Than Me'

7.《你的好，我比不上》——猶大聖徒樂隊

On a December evening in 1985, 20-year-old James Vance and 18-year-old Raymond Belknap stumbled into an abandoned playground. The two had spent the day drugging themselves into oblivion and decided to cap it off with a little suicide. Belknap shot himself and died immediately, but Vance only managed to injure himself. (He finally killed himself three years later.)

1985年12月的一個下午，20歲的詹姆斯·萬斯和18歲的雷蒙德·貝爾納普跌跌撞撞地走進了一個廢棄操場。兩人在此地逗留了一天，並以吸毒麻醉自己，最後他們用自殺結束了一切。貝爾納普開槍自盡當場死亡，而萬斯只是自殘受傷。（3年後，萬斯自殺身亡。）

Following the incident, the duo's parents decided the obvious culprit was a song they'd listened to that day, "Better by You, Better than Me," by Judas Priest. They claimed subliminal messages hidden in the track told listeners, "Let's be dead," and to "do it." This led to a bizarre six-week trial which ended with lead singer Rob Halford actually singing the song in the courtroom. The judge ultimately decided that the band had indeed planted hidden suicidal messages in the tune (they hadn't) but that the ordinary listener wouldn't hear them. So the case was dismissed, but it was a grave defeat for common sense.

事件發生後，兩人的父母認定罪魁禍首是孩子們當天所聽的一首歌，猶大聖徒樂隊的《你的好，我比不上》。他們稱這首歌向聽者灌輸“讓我們走向死亡”以及“動手吧”之類的潛意識信息。法院進行了一場爲時六週的離奇審判，以樂隊主唱羅伯·哈爾福德當庭演唱這首歌曲告終。法官最終判定，該樂隊確實在歌曲中植入了潛意識的自殺信息（實則沒有），但普通聽衆是聽不出這些信息的。案件最終被駁回，但對大衆而言，這是一場非常失敗的審判。

6 'Cross Road Blues'

6.《十字路口布魯斯》——羅伯特·約翰遜

Blues musician Robert Johnson had a short but massively influential career in the 1930s. However, rumors abound that his popularity was due to a deal he made with the Devil himself at a crossroads in Mississippi, granting him musical success but cursing him with an otherwise tragic life. And after his death at 27, that curse decided to hang around.

20世紀30年代，藍調音樂家羅伯特·約翰遜有着一段短暫但頗具影響力的職業生涯。但有傳言說，他之所以能大紅大紫是因爲在密西西比州的一個十字路口與魔鬼做了交易，用受到詛咒的悲劇人生換取音樂上的成功。他於27歲去世後，這個詛咒卻陰魂不散。

Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" seems to leave a trail of tragedy in its wake. After Eric Clapton covered the tune, his band broke up, and his young son fell to his death from a 53rd floor window. Members of the Allman Brothers Band died in motorcycle accidents at actual crossroads after their cover. Lynyrd Skynyrd's infamously fatal plane crash and the death of Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant's son also followed soon after performances of Johnson's musical monster. Kurt Cobain's death—also at 27—is even rumored to have been linked to his plan for a cover on a future album.

繼約翰遜的《十字路口布魯斯》之後，一連串悲劇似乎接踵而來。埃裏克·克萊普頓翻唱了這首歌之後，他的樂隊解散了，他的小兒子則從53樓公寓的窗戶墜亡。歐曼兄弟樂隊翻唱這首歌后，一名樂隊成員在一場發生於十字路口的摩托車交通事故中喪生。同樣在演唱完約翰遜那首受詛咒的歌曲後不久，林納德·斯金納德樂隊經歷了空難變故，齊柏林飛船樂隊主唱羅伯特·普蘭特之子夭折。科特·柯本同樣於27歲殞命，甚至有傳言說其死因和他未來的一張專輯封面計劃有關。