Much of Ylvis’s comic appeal lies in the way they treat everyday, even banal, themes with deadpan gravity. They wrote a song about animal noises, asking “What does the fox say?” and parodying European electronic pop, because they “wanted to make a very good production about something very stupid,” Vegard explains. It is an irresistible earworm, topping the charts in Norway and reaching number six on the Billboard chart in America. The video has been watched nearly 1bn times online.

译文
Ylvis的喜剧魅力很大程度上在于他们对待日常生活，甚至是平淡严肃的主题的方式。他们写了一首关于动物叫声的歌，唱道“狐狸叫什么？”并模仿了欧洲电子流行乐，因为他们“想要创作一个主题很蠢，但很好的作品，”维加德解释说。这首歌就是让人无法抗拒的耳虫，在挪威音乐排行榜上高居榜首，在美国告示牌排行榜上排名第六。这段视频在网上被观看了近10亿次。

Jan Egeland”, a rock track with thundering electric guitars and falsetto vocals, pays tribute to a Norwegian diplomat involved in the Oslo accords. The country-inflected “Massachusetts” is a tongue-incheek ode to America’s 15th-most-populous state (it angered some Bay Staters by suggesting that they were homophobic). “Russian Government Process”, in the style of a traditional folk song, pokes fun at that country’s opaque bureaucracy—as the music increases in tempo, the list of instructions becomes harder to understand.

译文
“Jan Egeland”是一首用电吉他和假声演唱的摇滚乐，这首歌是向一位参与奥斯陆协议的挪威外交官致敬。“Massachusetts”是对美国的人口第十五大洲的颂歌（这首歌激怒了一些海湾州的人，因为认为他们是同性恋恐惧症）。“Russian Government Process”这首歌的风格是传统民歌，它取笑了俄罗斯不透明的官僚机构，随着音乐节奏加快，伴奏变得越来越难以理解。

Bard says the pair have “an appetite for all sorts of genres”. They have also written lampoons of sultry R’n’B (“The Cabin”), misogynistic hip-hop (“Work It”) and dubstep (“Someone Like Me”). Besides their sheer range, what sets Ylvis apart from other comedy groups is the catchiness of the melodies and the brothers’ versatile and prodigious talents. You will try—and fail—to hit their high notes in the shower. In these dull, repetitive days, their work is a heartening reminder that even anodyne things can be a source of inspiration.

译文
巴德表示，两个人对“各种流派的音乐都有兴趣”。他们还写了讽刺的R’n’B（“The Cabin”），厌女的hip-hop (“Work It”)以及回响贝斯（“Someone Like Me”）。不同于其他喜剧团体，Ylvis的创作范围广泛、音乐旋律优美、两兄弟多才多艺。你会在淋浴时试着去唱他们的高音，但是会失败。在这些沉闷、千篇一律的日子里，他们的作品令人振奋，而且提醒人们，即使是乏味的东西也可以成为灵感的源泉。

注释
1.pay tribute to 向……致敬

The whole country pays tribute to these scientists for their outstanding contributions.

全国人民都高度赞扬这些科学家所作出的卓越贡献。

2.poke fun at 取笑

You shouldn't poke fun at him just because he can't ride a bicycle.

你不应该只是因为他不会骑车就取笑他。