【英語島讀書會】天籟歌聲也嘻哈？Billie Eilish唱出科技時代的陰鬱

年僅17歲的怪誕歌手Billie Eilish首度出專輯，衝到美國百大告示排行榜第一。回顧2015年，Eilish第一首歌《Ocean Eyes》僅是家中自製音樂，將歌曲放到Soundcloud上也只是為了傳給舞蹈老師，不料卻一夕爆紅。Eilish翻轉了音樂歌手的成名套路，將全新的怪誕元素帶入了流行音樂的市場，成為全球青少年的流行典範。

矛盾+憂鬱+諷刺=Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish, a singer-songwriter beloved by Gen Z -- has 15 million Instagram followers. With her debut album, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?", Eilish became the first artist born in the two-thousands to rank No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album opens with "!!!!!!!," a fourteen-second clip of Eilish giggling with her producing partner and elder brother, Finneas, as they make an announcement: "I have taken out my Invisalign, and this is the album."

歌手兼作詞作家Billie Eilish受到Z世代歡迎，她在Instagram上已經有1500萬追蹤訂閱。但隨著首張專輯「當我們睡了 怪事發生了」發行，Eilish一舉成為美國百大告示榜上，首位2000年後出生獲得排行第一的歌手。這張專輯以一段14秒的錄音片段「!!!!!!!」作為開頭，內容為她與她的哥哥兼音樂製作人Finneas瘋狂怪笑，Eilish大聲宣告：「我已經拿掉我的隱適美(牙套)了！這就是我的專輯！」

The source of her popularity lies in contradictions, combining both eerie trap-pop and whisper-sweet balladry. In her music, she dwells on the brooding macabre with biting sarcasm, from the strange fantasy of "Bellyache," in which she sings from the perspective of a murderer; to the dark imagery of "Bury a Friend," which conjures a monster hidden underneath her bed. Her refusal to conform makes her a voice of a generation that desires authenticity above all. "I don't care what you don't like about me, I care what I have to say." she said.

Billie Eilish會如此受歡迎，部分在於她音樂風格的衝突，她結合了詭異的陷阱音樂和耳語唱腔的民謠。她的歌詞還融合了陰鬱恐怖和尖酸諷刺的內容，像是從謀殺者的角度出發的怪誕歌曲「Bellyache」；到描述床底下怪物的黑暗歌曲「Bury a Friend」。Eilish拒絕服從陳規，也讓她成為超越權威的世代聲音。「我不在乎別人喜不喜歡我，我只在乎說出我想說的。」她說。

*Z世代是歐美流行用語，意指在1990年代中葉至2000年後出生的孩子。可說是第一個從小生活在電子虛擬與現實世界的世代，社群關係與價值觀深深影響了此世代的自我認同。

不只青少年，唱出「後現代社會」的心聲

Billie Eilish's music represents everything about Gen-Z pop culture that confuses the adults: genre-less but image-conscious; a strong presence online, but private. Her songs are not cliché; on the contrary, any subject is game for Eilish. Her lyrics deal with anxiety, sincerity, and emotional intelligence mixed with teenage apathy. Eilish blends all of these into her music to create an image reflecting a postmodern society. Coming of age of an era that can feel apocalyptic, she is also aware that our possible future is driven to the brink. "I really care about the world, global warming, animals, and how everything is ending, but I feel like nobody's really realizing it." she said.

Billie Eilish的音樂象徵所有大人都搞不懂的Z世代流行文化：沒有明確定位卻注重自身形象；強烈的網路形象卻在乎隱私。她的歌不是陳腔濫調；正好相反，任何主題都能編成她的歌。她的歌詞會圍繞在焦慮、真誠、及混合了青少年獨有的冷漠人際EQ。這些元素混入了Eilish的音樂，創造出屬於後現代社會的現象。由於處在這樣的世代，Eilish感受自己正面臨世界末日，世界的未來正岌岌可危。「我很關心這個世界的動向，像是全球暖化、動物議題，以及這個世界是怎麼毀滅的，但我卻覺得沒有人真的認知到這些事。」她說。

Her music, as well as her style, is accomplished through absolute art which makes it difficult to pin to a specific time period or reference. "I don't want to be in the pop world." she said.

她的音樂和個人風格，都滲入了完全的藝術，因此，難以受到時代定義或輕易被貼上標籤。「我不想跟隨流行。」她說道。

寬鬆的衣服是她成名的特色

Billie Eilish is also famous for her iconic baggy outfits, like baggy pants and neon Louis Vuitton tracksuits. "If I were a guy and I were wearing these baggy clothes, nobody would bat an eye. There's people out there saying, 'Dress like a girl for once! Wear tight clothes you'd be much prettier and your career would be so much better!' No! It wouldn't. It literally would not." she said.

Billie Eilish以穿著寬鬆的衣服著名，像是鬆垮垮的褲子和LV尼龍的寬鬆運動服。「如果我是男的，穿成這樣，大概不會有人甩我一眼。但總是有人會說：『穿得女性一點吧！穿上緊身的衣服，你會比較漂亮，事業也會一帆風順。』嘖！才沒有這回事，我穿成怎樣才不會我的事業。」她說。

In the meantime, she challenges normative expectations of what a female pop star can sound like, look like, and say publicly. She is a living possibility that a woman in pop music doesn't have to push sexuality in order to build her reputation and be successful.

同時，她挑戰了一般社會對流行女星期待的音樂風格、個人形象、甚至公眾發言都不受拘束。Billie Eilish本身就證明了流行女星不必賣弄風騷，也能夠獲得名聲與成就。

*本文收錄於英語島English Island 2019年6月號