An Interrogative Hermeneutics of Popular Song

Abstract

This article presents a methodology for the analytically-enriched discussion of meaning in recorded popular song. It argues for a middle way between assumptions of universal and entirely relativist meaning, based fundamentally on Gibson’s ecological psychology. It begins from the position that a listener encounters not a recording as communicable object, but a persona instantiated by a recording. Focus on the persona necessitates discussion of the personic environment constituted by the remainder of the musical fabric, and leads to a formulation of authenticity which acknowledges the weight put on this quality by many audiences. The paper then explores embodied meaning as a way of approaching the way that music feels, again acknowledging audience concern, and closes with a focus on the ecological position. Each of these stages in the argument is provided with a variety of illustrations.