The art of asking | Amanda Palmer

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Jamie Wang 審譯者: Julia Xu

(Breathes in)

(呼氣，吐氣)

(Breathes out)

所以我並不是一直都靠音樂為生

So, I didn't always make my living from music.

差不多五年以來

For about the five years after graduating

自從我從一所著名的文科大學畢業後

from an upstanding liberal arts university,

this was my day job.

這就是我的工作

(Laughter)

I was a self-employed living statue called the Eight-Foot Bride,

我是一個自雇的活雕像，叫做“八尺新娘”

and I love telling people I did this for a job,

我非常喜歡告訴他人我以此為工作

because everybody always wants to know,

因為大家都想要知道，

who are these freaks in real life.

在現實生活中，這些怪胎到底是誰？

(Laughter)

Hello.

哈囉

I painted myself white one day, stood on a box,

有天我把自己漆成白色，站在一個箱子上

put a hat or a can at my feet,

把一頂帽子或鋁罐放在我腳邊

and when someone came by and dropped in money,

當有人路過給錢的時候

我會給他們一朵花 也會與他們有強烈的眼神接觸

I handed them a flower --

and some intense eye contact.

如果他們沒有接受我的花

And if they didn't take the flower,

I threw in a gesture of sadness and longing --

他們走離時

我會展現出非常悲傷和渴望的姿態

as they walked away.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

So I had the most profound encounters with people,

所以我與人們有過非常深刻的接觸

especially lonely people

尤其是寂寞的人

who looked like they hadn't talked to anyone in weeks,

看起來好像有好幾個禮拜沒與人說過話的樣子

and we would get this beautiful moment of prolonged eye contact

這是美麗的一刻

在城市的街道上，我們長時間的目光接觸

being allowed in a city street,

and we would sort of fall in love a little bit.

好像我們稍稍地墜入愛河

And my eyes would say --

我的眼神會說："謝謝你，我看得到你。“

"Thank you.

I see you."

And their eyes would say --

而他們的眼神會說

"從來沒有人真正看到我，謝謝你"。

"Nobody ever sees me.

Thank you."

有時我會被騷擾

I would get harassed sometimes.

People would yell at me from their cars.

有人開車路過時，會對著我吼

"Get a job!"

"找份工作去!"

(Laughing) And I'd be, like,

我就會說，"這就是我的工作"。

"This is my job."

But it hurt, because it made me fear

但我會覺得受傷，因為這讓我害怕

that I was somehow doing something un-joblike

好像我所做的并不是工作

好像我所做的是不正當的，可恥的。

and unfair, shameful.

I had no idea how perfect a real education I was getting

我並不知道，其實我在這個箱子上所得到的

for the music business on this box.

對於我的音樂事業是一個多麼完美的一課

And for the economists out there,

對於一些經濟學家來說

you may be interested to know I actually made a pretty predictable income,

他們可能會想知道，其實我的收入非常穩定

which was shocking to me, given I had no regular customers,

這令我感到震驚

因為我並沒有常客

but pretty much 60 bucks on a Tuesday, 90 bucks on a Friday.

但通常週二差不多賺60塊錢，週五90塊錢。

It was consistent.

這是固定的。

And meanwhile, I was touring locally and playing in nightclubs

同時，我與我的樂團”德勒斯登玩偶“

在當地的夜店做巡迴演出

with my band, the Dresden Dolls.

這是我在彈鋼琴，那是一位天才鼓手。

This was me on piano, a genius drummer.

I wrote the songs, and eventually

我負責寫歌，而最終

we started making enough money that I could quit being a statue,

我們賺到了足夠的錢， 使我可以不用再做活體雕像

and as we started touring,

當我們開始巡迴演出，

我並不想失去這種與人的心靈交匯

I really didn't want to lose this sense

因為我很喜歡這種感覺

of direct connection with people, because I loved it.

So after all of our shows, we would sign autographs

所以演出結束后，我們會幫歌迷簽名

給他們擁抱，與他們互動聊天

and hug fans and hang out and talk to people,

and we made an art out of asking people to help us and join us,

我們將尋求協助變成了一種藝術

也讓其他人加入我們， 我會找到當地的音樂家和藝人

and I would track down local musicians and artists

讓他們在我們的秀場外表演

and they would set up outside of our shows,

and they would pass the hat,

他們會傳遞帽子

and then they would come in and join us onstage,

然後會進來加入我們一起在舞臺上表演

所以我們的表演會有 形形色色的雜技藝人客串

so we had this rotating smorgasbord of weird, random circus guests.

And then Twitter came along,

之後有了”推特”

and made things even more magic,

事情變得更神奇，因為我可以馬上

because I could ask instantly for anything anywhere.

在任何地方尋求任何東西

So I would need a piano to practice on,

我可能需要一台鋼琴做練習

and an hour later I would be at a fan's house.

一個小時後，我就會 在一位歌迷的家中，這是在倫敦

This is in London.

在世界各地 ，人們會把自做的家常菜

People would bring home-cooked food to us

all over the world backstage and feed us and eat with us.

帶到後臺給我們，與我們一起吃飯，這是在西雅圖

This is in Seattle.

在博物館和商店工作的歌迷們

Fans who worked in museums and stores

and any kind of public space would wave their hands

或者在公共空間工作的歌迷們，會揮手致意

如果我臨時決定做一場即興的免費演出

if I would decide to do a last-minute, spontaneous, free gig.

This is a library in Auckland.

這是一個在奧克蘭的圖書館。

On Saturday I tweeted for this crate and hat,

上週六我在推特上提到這個條板箱和帽子，

because I did not want to schlep them from the East Coast,

因為我不想從東岸就帶著它們

而這位名叫克利斯的老兄幫我們照看了這些東西

and they showed up care of this dude, Chris, from Newport Beach,

他來自紐波特海灘，也向你們問好

who says hello.

I once tweeted, "Where in Melbourne can I buy a neti pot?"

有一次，我在推特上說 在墨爾本哪裏可以買到洗鼻壺？

And a nurse from a hospital drove one

而一位在醫院工作的護士開車

right at that moment to the cafe I was in,

送到我當時所在的一家咖啡廳

and I bought her a smoothie

我給她買了一杯冰沙

and we sat there talking about nursing and death.

我們坐在那裡談及到護理和死亡

And I love this kind of random closeness,

我很喜歡這種隨意的近距離接觸

which is lucky, because I do a lot of couchsurfing.

這對我來講是幸運的，因為我是一個沙發客

如果是一棟豪宅 ，我的團隊 可能都可以有自己的房間

In mansions where everyone in my crew gets their own room

but there's no wireless,

但沒有無線網路，比起在一個寮屋

and in punk squats,

每個人擠在同一個房間，睡在地上，沒有廁所

everyone on the floor in one room with no toilets

but with wireless, clearly making it the better option.

但是有無線網路，當然寮屋是更好的選擇

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

我的團隊有一次把我們的休旅車

My crew once pulled our van up to a really poor Miami neighborhood

開到邁阿密的一個貧困社區

and we found out that our couchsurfing host for the night

我們發現，那晚提供我們沙發睡的人

是一位18歲的女孩，仍住在家裡

was an 18-year-old girl, still living at home,

and her family were all undocumented immigrants from Honduras.

而她的家人都是從宏都拉斯來的非法移民

And that night, her whole family

那天晚上，她全家

都睡在沙發上，她與她媽一起睡

took the couches and she slept together with her mom

so that we could take their beds.

好讓我們可以睡他們的床

我躺在那裡思考

And I lay there thinking,

這些人有如此之少

these people have so little.

Is this fair?

這公平嗎？

And in the morning,

早上的時候，她媽媽教我們如何

her mom taught us how to try to make tortillas

做玉米餅，她還想要給我一本聖經

and wanted to give me a Bible,

and she took me aside and she said to me in her broken English,

她把我拉到一邊， 用蹩腳的英語對我說

"Your music has helped my daughter so much.

"你的音樂幫了我女兒好多“

Thank you for staying here. We're all so grateful."

”謝謝你住在這裡，我們都很感激。“

And I thought, this is fair.

之後我想了想，這是公平的。

就是這樣。

This is this.

A couple of months later, I was in Manhattan,

幾個月後，我在曼哈頓

and I tweeted for a crash pad, and at midnight,

我在推特上尋求一個臨時住處， 在午夜的時候

I'm on the Lower East Side,

我在下東區的一個地方按門鈴

and it occurs to me I've never actually done this alone.

我才想到 我從來沒有一個人這樣做過

I've always been with my band or my crew.

我一直都是跟著我的樂團或者團隊

這就是愚蠢的人會做的事嗎？（笑聲）

Is this what stupid people do?

(Laughter)

Is this how stupid people die?

愚蠢的人就是這麼死的嗎？

And before I can change my mind, the door busts open.

在我可以改變主意之前，門被突然打開

她是一位藝人，而他為"路透社"的寫金融博客

She's an artist.

He's a financial blogger for Reuters,

and they're pouring me a glass of red wine

他們給我倒了杯紅酒

and offering me a bath,

讓我洗了個澡

and I have had thousands of nights like that and like that.

幾千個夜晚，我就是這樣或那樣度過的

我常當沙發客，我也常常”人群衝浪“

So I couchsurf a lot. I also crowdsurf a lot.

我一直認為，其實當一個沙發客和人群衝浪

I maintain couchsurfing and crowdsurfing

are basically the same thing.

基本上是一樣的

You're falling into the audience

你墜落到觀眾群裡

and you're trusting each other.

你們互相信任對方

I once asked an opening band of mine

有一次我問我的開幕樂隊

if they wanted to go out into the crowd and pass the hat

問他們要不要走到觀眾群裡，傳遞帽子

to get some extra money, something that I did a lot.

多賺點錢，我常做這樣的事

像往常一樣，樂隊非常興奮

And as usual, the band was psyched,

可是樂隊裡，有一個人

but there was this one guy in the band

他告訴我他沒辦法讓自己走出去

who told me he just couldn't bring himself to go out there.

It felt too much like begging to stand there with the hat.

站在那裡拿著帽子，感覺太像乞討

我了解了他的恐懼，那種"這公平嗎?" 和"找份工作吧"的恐懼

And I recognized his fear

of "Is this fair?"

and "Get a job."

同時，我的樂隊正在越變越大

And meanwhile, my band is becoming bigger and bigger.

We sign with a major label.

我們與唱片公司簽了約

And our music is a cross between punk and cabaret.

我們的樂風是龐克和卡巴萊的混合

It's not for everybody.

不是每個人都喜歡

Well, maybe it's for you.

可能你會喜歡吧

(Laughter)

我們簽了約，大家對於我們的下一張專輯都有所期待

We sign, and there's all this hype leading up to our next record.

And it comes out and it sells about 25,000 copies

發片後前幾個禮拜賣了差不多25,000張

in the first few weeks,

and the label considers this a failure.

唱片公司認為這是一個失敗

I was like, "25,000, isn't that a lot?"

我說，"25,000不是很多嗎?"

They said, "No, the sales are going down.

他們說，"不，銷售在下降，這是失敗。”

It's a failure."

And they walk off.

他們就放棄了

Right at this same time, I'm signing and hugging after a gig,

就在這同時，我在表演過後為歌迷簽名，與他們擁抱

一個男人向我走來

and a guy comes up to me

and hands me a $10 bill,

給我一張10元的鈔票

and he says,

他說

"I'm sorry, I burned your CD from a friend."

"我很抱歉，你的CD我是從朋友那燒來的。”

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"但我看到你的部落格，知道你討厭你的唱片公司。“

"But I read your blog, I know you hate your label.

I just want you to have this money."

"我只是想要你拿到這筆錢"

And this starts happening all the time.

同樣的事情開始常常發生

I become the hat after my own gigs,

表演完後，我成為了帽子

but I have to physically stand there and take the help from people,

可是我必須真的站在那裡，接受人們給我的幫助

and unlike the guy in the opening band,

跟那位開幕樂團的傢伙不一樣的是

I've actually had a lot of practice standing there.

對於站在那個位置上，我已經有了很多練習

謝謝你

Thank you.

And this is the moment I decide

那個時刻，我決定

I'm just going to give away my music for free

我要把我的音樂免費送出

online whenever possible,

隨時可以在網路上得到，

so it's like Metallica over here, Napster, bad;

所以”金屬樂隊“在這，"納普斯特"不好

Amanda Palmer over here,

亞曼達 · 帕默爾在這裡，而我會鼓勵

and I'm going to encourage torrenting, downloading, sharing,

所有流下載、下載、分享，但我會尋求幫助

but I'm going to ask for help,

because I saw it work on the street.

因為我看到這在大街上行得通

So I fought my way off my label, and for my next project

為了我下一個計劃，我努力擺脫了我的唱片公司

with my new band, the Grand Theft Orchestra,

與我的新樂隊，“俠盜樂團”，

I turned to crowdfunding.

我轉而投向了人群衝浪

And I fell into those thousands of connections that I'd made,

墜入我建立的成千上萬的心靈交匯中

and I asked my crowd to catch me.

我請求我的觀眾接住我

目標是10萬美元

And the goal was 100,000 dollars.

My fans backed me at nearly 1.2 million,

我的歌迷們支持實際達到近120萬元

which was the biggest music crowdfunding project to date.

這是到目前為止最大的音樂集資專案

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And you can see how many people it is.

你可以看的到有多少人參與

約25,000人

It's about 25,000 people.

And the media asked,

媒體們問我，"亞曼達“

"Amanda, the music business is tanking and you encourage piracy.

音樂事業正在衰退，你卻鼓勵盜版

How did you make all these people pay for music?"

你是如何讓這麼多人為音樂付錢的？

And the real answer is, I didn't make them.

真正的答案是，不是我讓他們， 而是我請求他們

I asked them.

And through the very act of asking people,

通過真正的請求他人

我會與他們建立心靈交匯

I'd connected with them,

and when you connect with them, people want to help you.

當你與他們有所交匯，人們會想要幫你

It's kind of counterintuitive for a lot of artists.

這個對於很多藝人來說是違反常理的

他們不想請求什麼

They don't want to ask for things.

But it's not easy.

它並不容易，請求他人並不容易

It's not easy to ask.

And a lot of artists have a problem with this.

很多藝人都做不到

Asking makes you vulnerable.

請求會使你變得脆弱

And I got a lot of criticism online,

我的募資網站成功後

after my Kickstarter went big,

許多人在網路上批評我

for continuing my crazy crowdsourcing practices,

因為我繼續這種瘋狂的”眾包“做法

特別是當我詢問那些同是歌迷的音樂家

specifically for asking musicians

who are fans if they wanted to join us on stage

來與我們一同在台上

for a few songs in exchange for love and tickets and beer,

為一點愛、門票和啤酒唱幾首歌

一個網站上有一張

and this was a doctored image that went up of me on a website.

我的篡改照片

And this hurt in a really familiar way.

這種痛讓我感到非常熟悉

And people saying,

當人們說，”你不能再繼續这么做了“

"You're not allowed anymore to ask for that kind of help,"

”不能繼續尋求那樣的幫助了“的時候

really reminded me of the people in their cars yelling, "Get a job."

讓我想起了在車裡向我吼”找份工作吧“的人

因為他們沒和我們一起站在街上

Because they weren't with us on the sidewalk,

他們看不到

and they couldn't see the exchange

that was happening between me and my crowd,

我與觀眾之間的交流

an exchange that was very fair to us but alien to them.

這種交流對我們來說是公平的， 對他們來說卻是陌生的

So this is slightly not safe for work.

這對工作來講有點不安全

這是我在柏林的募資網站支持者派對

This is my Kickstarter backer party in Berlin.

At the end of the night, I stripped and let everyone draw on me.

當晚臨終時，我脫光了衣服， 讓大家在我身上畫畫

Now let me tell you, if you want to experience

讓我告訴你，如果你想要試試

the visceral feeling of trusting strangers --

那種徹底相信陌生人的感覺

(Laughter)

我推薦這麼做

I recommend this,

especially if those strangers are drunk German people.

特別是如果那些陌生人是喝醉的德國人

(Laughter)

這是一個大師級的歌迷互動活動

This was a ninja master-level fan connection,

因為我在那表達的是

because what I was really saying here was,

I trust you this much.

我是如此信任你

Should I?

我該如此嗎？讓我看看

Show me.

For most of human history,

在大部份的人類歷史中，

musicians, artists, they've been part of the community.

音樂家、 藝人，他們是社區的一部分

Connectors and openers, not untouchable stars.

他們是連接者與開闢者， 不是無法觸及的明星

Celebrity is about a lot of people loving you from a distance,

當一位名人就是讓許多人在遠處愛慕你

but the Internet

可是網路以及我們可以自由在網路上

and the content that we're freely able to share on it

分享的內容

are taking us back.

讓我們可以回過來

It's about a few people loving you up close

讓一些人可以近距離愛慕你

and about those people being enough.

還有覺得有了那些人就已經足夠

So a lot of people are confused by the idea

所以很多人對於沒有”標籤價格“的概念

of no hard sticker price.

感到困惑

They see it as an unpredictable risk, but the things I've done,

他們認為這是一種不可預知的風險， 但我以前所做的

the Kickstarter, the street, the doorbell,

募資網站，街頭賣藝，按人家門鈴，

I don't see these things as risk.

我無法將這些看做風險

I see them as trust.

我將這些看做信任

Now, the online tools

那些讓交流像在街頭一樣

to make the exchange as easy and as instinctive as the street,

變得更簡單，更自然的網路工具

正在慢慢進步

they're getting there.

But the perfect tools aren't going to help us

可是如果我們無法面對彼此

if we can't face each other

無畏的給予和接受

and give and receive fearlessly,

完美的工具並不會幫助我們

but, more important --

更重要的是，

to ask without shame.

我們不要對請求感到羞恥

My music career has been spent

我花了整個音樂生涯

trying to encounter people on the Internet the way I could on the box.

想要與網路上的人們

有像站在箱子上的接觸

So blogging and tweeting not just about my tour dates

所以我在部落格和推特上 不只提到我的巡迴演出日期

and my new video but about our work and our art

和我的新視頻，也提到關於我們的工作，藝術，

and our fears and our hangovers,

恐懼，宿醉經驗，錯誤

our mistakes,

and we see each other.

這樣我們就看得到彼此

我認為，當我們真正看得到彼此時

And I think when we really see each other,

we want to help each other.

我們就會想要幫助彼此

我認為人們一直在錯誤的問題上鑽牛角尖

I think people have been obsessed with the wrong question,

which is, "How do we make people pay for music?"

那就是，”我們該如何使人們花錢買音樂？“

如果我們開始問的是

What if we started asking,

"How do we let people pay for music?"

"我們該如何讓人們自己買音樂?"

謝謝。

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌聲）