Here Comes the Sign: The Semiotics of Popular Music

This text is an original and unique introduction to musical semiotics through the use of popular music acts and repertoires of global cultural impact. The basic idea of this is that the songs of The Beatles, Queen, ABBA, Madonna, Michael Jackson and others have become a lingua franca in nearly all cultures, thus making for excellent examples to illustrate musical semiotic theories. “’Heroes’” can perfectly explain Eero Tarasti’s Actantial Model, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is ideal to describe Tzvetan Todorov’s Equilibrium Theory, and so forth. Through case studies, in-depth analysis, original theoretical contributions from the author, but also a comprehensible and enjoyable writing style, this volume will be an engaging reading for students and at the same time an aid for instructors in semiotics, musicology and popular music studies.