Musical Borrowing
An Annotated Bibliography

Individual record

[+] Lacasse, Serge. "Intertextuality and Hypertextuality in Recorded Popular Music." In The Musical Work: Reality or Invention?, ed. Michael Talbot, 35-58. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2000.

In his book Palimpsestes: la littérature au second degree, Gérard Genette addresses intertextual and hypertextual relationships between texts utilizing a theoretical framework that could be enlightening if applied to recorded popular music. Genette defines intertextuality as the "actual presence of a text within another." Thus, the techniques of quotation and allusion fall into this category. Genette goes on to define hypertextuality as the modeling of a new text (the hypertext) on a previous text (the hypotext). Parody, which is defined as the alteration of subject matter while retaining style characteristics, and its converse travesty, in which the subject matter is retained but the style is altered, fall under this category. Also, included in the category of hypertextuality are pastiche, covering, copy, translation, instrumental cover, and various types of remixes. An additional distinction in the categorization of intertextual relationships is the differentiation between borrowings with a "sameness of spelling" or autosonic borrowing (e.g., sampling) and those with a "sameness of sounding" or allosonic borrowings (e.g., a performed allusion or quotation).

Works: John Bonham, Puff Daddy (Sean Combs), Mark Curry, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant: Come With Me (39-40); Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, and Weird Al Yancovic: Smells Like Nirvana (41-42); Noel Gallagher: Wonderwall as performed by Mike Flowers (42); Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup: That's All Right as performed by Elvis Presley (46).

Sources: John Bonham, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant [Led Zeppelin]: Kashmir (40); Kurt Cobain and Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit (41-42); Noel Gallagher [Oasis]: Wonderwall (42); Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup: That's All Right (46).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Sarah Florini



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Musical Borrowing and Reworking - www.chmtl.indiana.edu/borrowing - 2024
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