Gene

Gene樂隊的主唱馬丁·魯思特（Martin Rossiter）有一次酒不醉人人自醉似地俳徊在一家搖滾酒吧里，向同座的陌生人訴說著自己的苦衷："所有的樂評都沖著我們來了，把我們這幫93年才開始扎起營寨的懶鬼說成是野心勃勃的莽漢！天？！誰有心思去操那份心！難道我們是投機取巧者？真是一言難盡……"
Gene這支來自倫敦的四人前衛(wèi)樂隊盡管沒有刻意地"投機"、"討好"過誰，但是樂評界還是象輕視一切突然冒升的新手或水平低劣的模仿者那樣把這支樂隊劃入了"The Smiths的卡拉 OK版"之列。 Gene 樂隊隊名取自50年代有"樂壇壞孩子"之稱的吉尼·文森特（ Gene Vincent）和搖滾樂人吉尼·皮特尼（ Gene pitney）。無論從主觀還是客觀上而言，這支樂隊都屬于70年代中期那種"閉門造車"的地下?lián)u滾樂隊。
這是Gene的自我定位，主唱手馬丁看來已不屑就樂評界的非難進行辯駁了。1993年，樂隊的首張專輯《 Olympian》（奧林匹亞）繼承了The Smiths樂隊的遺風，那種附庸風雅卻又堅韌不拔的音樂色彩直至歌的名字都與The Smiths如出一轍。而Gene 的第二張專輯《Drawn To The Deep End》（拉到盡頭了）讓許多人誤以為是The Smiths早期作品的重版。不過，馬丁對于眾多的"為什么"還是作了回答，這就是"俺樂意"。
作為樂隊主唱手的馬丁在整個樂隊中有著舉足輕重的影響，而對馬丁有著舉足輕重影響的倒不是The Smiths這支老牌搖滾樂隊，而是一支不出名的流行樂隊-- Redskins（紅皮）。"我是聽了'紅皮'的音樂才發(fā)覺流行樂的驚人影響力的。"在買了"紅皮"的11盒專輯后，他便開始向隊友灌輸"紅皮"知識。馬丁第一次音樂方面嘗試就是組建了一支模仿'紅皮'樂隊的流行樂樂隊 Drop（水滴），并但任鍵盤手。那時他的作品類似于Boy George和"寵物店男孩"。一次偶然的機會，馬丁在一家迪斯科舞廳里碰上了地下樂隊Spin（暈眩）的史蒂夫和另一樂手邁特·詹姆斯（ Matt James）。當時小有名氣的"暈眩"樂隊在英國的巡演中遭遇了車禍，史蒂夫那個擔當貝司手的弟弟嚴重腦震蕩，樂隊產(chǎn)生人員危機而面臨解散，史蒂夫不得不面對樂隊的去留和 個人發(fā)展的問題。此時，兩個如天兵似的人物出現(xiàn)了，一個是前The Smiths 的制作人史蒂夫（ Stephen Street，日后他為 Gene的唱片制作出了大力），另一個是史蒂夫的鄰居，日后成為樂隊低音貝司手的凱文·邁爾斯（ Kevin Miles）。萬事齊備只缺主歌手時，有個小伙子在他們出沒的搖滾酒吧里遞上這么張名片："馬丁·魯思特--專為追求名利進行鼓吹"。盡管直至今日史蒂夫、邁特和凱文還在爭論在那天是誰先接到的名片，但是當初這個惹人注目的小家伙今天已牢牢占據(jù)了 Gene及至另類搖滾的一把座椅。
Gene樂隊94年推出的首張單曲"夭折的孩子"及其后的"你是我的光明"等5張單曲都被獨立樂評人評為高水準的佳作，其中的第三張單曲"今晚睡個好覺"更是擠進了年度40佳之列。但馬丁的眼光似乎看得更遠，用他的話來說，就是："我們不是組裝藝術(shù)的唱片流水線工人"。
雖然樂評對Gene樂隊或馬丁的"半瓶醋"論調(diào)顯得不屑一顧，但是Gene仍然頂著那塊惡名遠揚的"模仿小丑"招牌招搖過市，那張《拉到盡頭了》在廣受非議之時亦在榜單上取得了佳績。也許正是這種無所顧忌的搖滾風格使 Gene顯得與眾不同。其實，Gene在樂風上模仿 The Smiths也正好避開了其它樂隊，尤其是流行樂隊的競爭。但Gene的存在確實對流行樂和搖滾樂市場都形成了沖擊，96年10月樂隊的熱門作品 "Fighting Fit"（好斗爭強）已是明證。馬丁自稱"對過去我已厭煩，我要做更前衛(wèi)的東西。"
果然，樂隊的新專輯里多"更前衛(wèi)的東西"，而謝天謝地少了 The Smiths的影子。樂隊把更多的音樂因素、風格吸納了進來，象Queen（皇后 ）的華麗搖滾，" New Amusement"（新娛樂）的喧鬧都出現(xiàn)了。新專輯里馬丁個人尤其欣賞" Speak To Me Softly"（溫柔地對我說）這首頗有流行潛質(zhì)的歌。這各風格上的多樣化是不是已在不經(jīng)意間流露出Gene的野心呢--"我們不拒絕為人們寵愛，也喜歡在大庭廣眾為千萬人擁戴，然而我們最希望聽到終有一天人們眾口一調(diào)在唱 Gene的歌。"
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Gene will forever be haunted by comparisons to the Smiths, especially since lead singer Martin Rossiter favors the same strangled croon and tortured loneliness of Morrissey. Nevertheless, under the direction of guitarist Steve Mason, Gene developed a tougher sound than the Smiths, drawing not only from the fey tradition of British indie-pop, but also from the three-chord raunch of the Faces, the working-class punk of the Jam and the soulful stomp of Motown. Most critic s didnt hear such subtle differences, and opinions on the groups worth were fiercely divided upon the release of the groups first single in 1994, with the band earning as many detractors as supporters. Amidst such divided reaction, Gene developed a devoted following which helped them become one of the leading artists of the Britpop second tier in 1995, even if the band had trouble breaking into the States.
The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Spin disbanded after their career was sidetracked by their bassists injury in a car crash, yet Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles through a mutual friend. The trio eventually met Welsh native Martin Rossiter, and the quartet formed Gene in 1993. Over the course of the next few months, the band wrote a batch of songs and had performed a number of concerts by the end of the year. A pair of music journalists, Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson, formed the Costermonger label in order to release Genes debut single, For the Dead, in April 1994. Nearly every copy of the limited-edition release sold out within the first week, and Gene soon became favorites of the British music weeklies. That July, Be My Light, Be My Guide became a number one hit on the indie charts, and Gene had emerged as one of the leading new bands of the burgeoning Britpop movement. Major-label interest beckoned, and the group signed with Polydor, who subsidized Costermonger in the U.K. An acclaimed third single, Sleep Well Tonight, followed in September, and in January of 1995, Gene was named Best New Act at NMEs Brat Awards.
Until the release of the groups debut album, Olympian, in the spring of 1995, Gene had continued to build momentum, partially because Martin Rossiter had adopted Morrisseys technique of giving articulate, outrageous and witty interviews. Olympian, however, was greeted with mixed reviews, and although the group had a sizable fan base — the album debuted in the Top Ten — they were soon overshadowed by the legions of groups that popped up in the wake of Blur and Oasis success. Even so, Haunted by You and Olympian both became Top 20 hits. Early in 1996, To See the Lights, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. For the remainder of the year, Gene was quiet, preparing their second album, Drawn to the Deep End. Fighting Fit was released as a teaser in the fall and became a Top Ten hit, but Drawn to the Deep End didnt follow through on its success. Although it debuted in the Top Ten upon its release in early 1997, it was greeted with decidedly mixed reviews and quickly fell down the charts, although the groups core audience remained loyal. By the new millennium, the band was without a label. They founded Contra and issued the live set Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour in 2000. The album went almost unnoticed among the indie scene, however a true comeback loomed ahead. In mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with Libertine, their strongest material since Olympian. A late summer/early fall trek across America coincided with the release.