Reading Pop: Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music

Reading Pop collects together key essays on the interpretation of pop songs previously published in the journal Popular Music. In sixteen varied studies by.
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Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music

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Choose your country or region Close. Sounds French Jonathyne Briggs. Rock 'N' Film David E. Modern Moves Danielle Robinson.

Reading pop: approaches to textual analysis in popular music by Middleton, Richard,

Show Boat Todd Decker. In the Midnight Hour Tony Fletcher. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.


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In the Midnight Hour Tony Fletcher. Africa in Stereo Tsitsi Ella Jaji. Mismatched Women Jennifer Fleeger.

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Sounds French Jonathyne Briggs. Middleton is particularly interested in the gesture of the rhythmic groove, a crucial element in popular music. He suggests the possibility of a graphical representation of the groove and the musical gestures that accompany it, and he provides a convincing example of how such a representation might be laid out.

Reading pop: approaches to textual analysis in popular music

Through specific examples drawn from Williams's short recording career, connected with perceptive analysis of postwar American society, the authors construct a convincing account of how and why [End Page ] Williams's music captured the insecurities and conflicting emotions of the age. Though some may balk at their use of Freudian psychological concepts specifically, their claim that Williams resisted the "oedipal narrative" because of his father's unavailability during his youth , Leppert and Lipsitz present convincing evidence for their arguments.

Of particular interest is their discussion of Williams's alcohol-ravaged body as a site of contestation of the tensions inherent in postwar cultural norms regarding sexuality and gender roles. Philip Tagg's "Analyzing Popular Music: Theory, Method, and Practice" presents a comprehensive and critical overview of the relatively immature condition of popular music analysis and suggests methodological tools for bringing it up to speed.

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These include a useful checklist of musical qualities the analyst should consider in the search for musical meaning within popular music. Yet Tagg regrettably employs a number of scientific-sounding acronyms as shorthand for what he perceives to be important analytical objects. For example, he uses IOCM to refer to "interobjective comparison material" i.