Dissertation Index
Author: Evan Ware Title: Their Ways: Theorizing Reinterpretation in Popular Music Institution: University of Michigan Begun: January 2011 Completed: May 2015 Abstract: In this dissertation, I put forward an analytical approach cover song analysis. Although song repurposing is a pervasive and an important practice in contemporary Euro-American popular music, it is the object of little scholarly literature. What scholarship there is, tends to be analyses of discreet original-cover pairs, leaving unaddressed the broader process of what it means to cover. “Cover song†has thus remained an undefined term that conceals many different interpretive subject positions. I therefore propose to analyze the practice of covering as a series of decisions, made by the cover artist, to be similar to or different from a base song. Drawing from Michel de Certeau’s theories of creativity, I describe the base song as a “strategy,†an organizing force to which the cover artist responds with “tactics,†changes they make to repurpose the song for their particular expressive intentions. Depending on their number and extent, tactics either pull the new interpretation away from the original, or emulate it. These tendencies can be conceived of as continuum, stretching toward isomorphism (likeness) on one end, or metamorphism (dissimilarity). A third category arises when a song is repurposed by setting entirely new lyrics to an earlier song’s music. This is no longer a cover but a “derivative,†a new song that does not depend on the original for its meanings. Using the above framework, I bring multiple analytical lenses from music theory, and related disciplines to bear on several case studies. I draw these from the family of songs related to Frank Sinatra’s hit “My Way,†including its French source, Claude François’s “Comme d’habitude,†Sid Vicious’s violent metamorphic cover, and Canadian lounge act, Johnny Vegas, isomorphic homage to both Sinatra and Elvis Presley to help both broaden and focus the scholarly conversation on this important musical practice. Keywords: Cover songs, musical meaning, semiotics, creative practice, music analysis, ethnography, Frank Sinatra. TOC: Chapter 1 – Cover and Repurposing as Cultural Practices: Defining the Cover Song Continuum Cover Songs: A Definition and an Illustration Cover Song Scholarship Ending Ambiguity: Toward a Workable Taxonomy of Covering Practices The Cover Song Continuum A Semiotics of Strategies and Tactics Chapter 2 – Derivatives: How “My Way†and “Comme d’habitude†are Different Songs A Semiotics of Strategies: A Theory of Music-Text Signification Case Study 1: “Comme d’habitude†(1967) and “My Way†(1969) Sound Structures Trope 1 – “Sentimental†Sixths Trope 2 – Bass Line of “Chromatic Loss†Trope 3 – Appoggiatura Chain “Pathos†Trope 4 – “Overcoming†Through Anacrusis Climaxes Trope 5 – Bass Line of “Diatonic Consolation†Chapter 3 – Metamorphic Covers: Notions of Inclusion and Exclusion in Sid Vicious’s “My Way†The Punk Movement, Inclusion, Exclusion, and Détournement Case Study 2: Sid Vicious’s “My Way,†April 1978 Performance Context Performance Act Sound Structures Discussion: Othering, Exclusion, Recuperation, Inclusion Chapter 4 – Isomorphic Covers: A Canadian Lounge Singer Negotiates Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra Accessing the Esthesic: Ethnography and Music Analysis Case Study 3: Johnny Vegas’s “My Way†at Lounge Nite (1995-2014) Musical Competence Performance Context Performance Act Sound Structures Chapter 5 – Expanding the Cover Song Continuum: Isomorphic and Metamorphic Tactics, Strategy Chains, Evolving Contexts The Present Project Future Directions Evolving Contexts Final Word Appendix: Sinatra and François song samples used for interobjective comparison in Chapter 2 Contact: Evan Ware Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition Madonna University evan@evanware.com |