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(noun and adjective) A cultural phenomenon inspired by the music of Charli XCX, connotative of a laissez-faire attitude and hedonistic lifestyle
（名詞和形容詞）一種受酷娃恰莉(Charli XCX)音樂啓發的文化現象，寓意自由放任的態度和享樂主義的生活方式
What did this year’s race for the most powerful office on earth have in common with a sweaty rave off the UK’s M25 motorway? In 2024 — and perhaps only in 2024 — the two were closely intertwined, indelibly marked by brat.
今年爭奪地球上最有權勢職位的競賽，與英國M25高速公路旁的狂歡派對有什麼共同之處？在2024年——或許僅在2024年——這兩者緊密交織，被brat深深烙印。
The question for those over the age of 25: what exactly is brat? In the first instance, it is the title of Charli XCX’s Grammy nominated sixth album, released in June. But to confine brat to 15 tracks of buzz-saw synths and pulsating basslines encouraging you to unleash your inner “365 party girl” is to do it a disservice.
對於25歲以上的人來說，問題是：究竟什麼是「brat」？首先，它是酷娃恰莉第六張專輯的名稱，這張專輯曾獲得格萊美提名，並於6月發行。但如果僅將「brat」侷限於15首充滿電鋸合成器和脈動低音的曲目，鼓勵你釋放內心的「365派對女孩」，那就太小看它了。
According to the British pop star, brat is “a vibe”. In the year of a vibes-based US election, it offered an unexpected glimmer of hope to blue America: Charli’s resounding endorsement of Kamala Harris with the tweet “kamala IS brat” briefly reinvigorated a struggling Democrat campaign. Harris HQ’s wholehearted embrace of the album’s lurid green cover and aggressive hyperpop, spliced with memeable one-liners in 10-second TikToks, promised to be a Gen-Z rallying cry. For a moment, it seemed as though Harris was in the throes of a brat summer, enjoying a heady, bravado-filled few months. Alas, come November, vibes failed to turn into votes.
據英國流行歌星酷娃恰莉所說，brat是一種「氛圍」。在以氛圍爲基礎的美國大選年，它爲藍色美國提供了意想不到的一線希望：酷娃恰莉在推特上響亮地支援卡瑪拉•哈里斯(Kamala Harris)，稱「卡瑪拉就是brat」，短暫地振興了一個很難的民主黨競選活動。哈里斯總部全心全意地接受了專輯那鮮豔的綠色封面和激進的超流行音樂，並在10秒的TikTok影片中插入了可製作成表情包的金句，承諾成爲Z世代的集結號。曾一度，似乎哈里斯正經歷一個brat的夏天，享受著幾個月充滿自信的狂熱。可惜，到了11月，氛圍未能轉化爲選票。
The overwhelming success of the album and its accompanying aesthetic may instead herald the return of recession pop, dance music from the 2000s and 2010s characterised by unyielding optimism in the face of financial hardship (as Pitbull and Ne-Yo’s 2014 classic goes, “This is the last 20 dollars I got but I’ma have a good time ballin’ tonight”). Reeling from the cost of living crisis, brat is Gen Z’s remedy to society’s pathologies. Who cares about mounting student debt and an unforgiving job market when, according to brat, all it takes to have a good time is a “pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top”?
這張專輯及其伴隨的美學的巨大成功可能預示著經濟衰退流行音樂的迴歸，這種音樂是2000年代和2010年代的舞曲，以在經濟困難面前不屈的樂觀主義爲特徵（正如Pitbull和Ne-Yo的2014年經典歌曲所唱，「這是我剩下的最後20美元，但今晚我會盡情享受」）。在生活成本危機中，brat是Z世代對社會病態的解藥。根據brat的說法，當擁有一包煙、一隻Bic打火機和一件白色吊帶上衣就能享受美好時光時，誰還在乎不斷增加的學生債務和無情的就業市場呢？