Your Guitar, It Sounds So Sweet and Clear
Kevin J. Holm-Hudson · Music Theory Online · 2002
As the production of recorded popular music is often as important as its materials, studio arrangement and timbral processing are essential components in popular music analysis. A semiotic approach to popular music can therefore reveal aspects of its structure that may be overlooked by more traditional methodologies. Recent studies of popular music have implicitly drawn on semiotic concepts to varying degrees. On the other hand, the more explicitly semiotic work of scholars such as Agawu, Hatten, Nattiez, and Tarasti has concentrated on art-music repertoire. My semiotic interpretation of “Superstar,” considering versions by the Carpenters and Sonic Youth, draws upon Peirce’s conception of semiosis. The arrangements are analyzed using Nattiez’s tripartite conception of the musical work and Tagg’s taxonomy of musical gestures; mixing is also discussed, drawing upon the anthropomorphic and psychological implications of actoriality, after Tarasti. By comparing the two recordings, it will be shown that the listener’s interpretation of a song can be profoundly affected by timbre, sound processing, and mixing techniques. Author’s Note: Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society, South Central chapter, Louisville, Kentucky, April 5, 2002; at the Experience Music Project “Crafting Sounds, Creating Meaning” conference, Seattle, Washington, April 13, 2002; and at the Music and Media workshop of the International Semiotics Institute annual symposium, Imatra, Finland, June 10, 2002. I would like to thank those who offered helpful suggestions at each of these conferences. I also wish to convey my deepest gratitude to Richard Littlefield (Central Michigan University), Candace Brower (Northwestern University), Daniel Levitin (McGill University), and the anonymous reviewers for Music Theory Online, all of whom helped immeasurably in shaping the final version.