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21 - An Ear for Irony

from Part VI - Irony in Expressive, Nonlinguistic Media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2023

Herbert L. Colston
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
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Summary

This chapter explores the ways irony unfolds in music. Turner and DiBernardo examine representative pop songs, both original compositions and cover versions, to suggest several ways that irony is created and perhaps detected by listeners. As they argue, “Musical irony requires an interpretive ear for hearing contradictory or disjunctive sounds (and lyrics) within a musical context.” But inferring irony from music involves a special challenge given that music lacks it own semantic or representational signification. Lyrics are clearly a driving force in expressing ironic intent, but instrumental sounds often interact with the spoken words to convey richer ironic complexes, including both rhetorical and situational ironies. Listeners may be especially attentive to the tension, or the discrepancy, between the musical form, style, or genre of a song (e.g., the upbeat, lyrical form in Randy Newman’s song “Political Science”) and its lyrical content (e.g., the use of weapons of mass destruction). Many musical ironies may be “post-modern” because of their self-referential style (e.g., not just criticizing others, but ourselves as well). This chapter offers a compelling, beautifully detailed, argument that “music is a largely underexplored wellspring of ironic activity.”

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

References

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Discography

Coltrane, J. (1961). My favorite things. On My favorite things [LP]. Atlantic Records, SD-1361.Google Scholar
Depeche Mode. (1989). Personal Jesus [Single]. Mute Records, Bong 17.Google Scholar
Grande, A. (2019). My favorite things. Thank U, Next [LP]. Republic Records, 0602508437724.Google Scholar
Mraz, J. (2005). Wordplay. On Mr. A-Z [CD]. Atlantic, 7567938442.Google Scholar
Newman, R. (1972). Political Science/Sail Away [Single, vinyl]. Reprise, REP 1102.Google Scholar
XTC. (1986). Dear God [Single]. Virgin, CDEP3.Google Scholar

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