Patrick Tice-Carroll

April 8, 2019

Intertextuality and Popular Music Response

pp 3-7 What do the authors mean by intertextuality, and why do they find it useful to the study of
popular music?
Intertextuality is defined by the authors as “the web of interrelated creative elements that
link a text to other texts.” In popular music, this is nearly ubiquitous, found in all sub-
genres of the pop music landscape. Because of its supreme prevalence, study into this
provides insight into the trends and stylistic trademarks of different artists and musical
movements.
P5, 8. What is meant by genealogy?
Genealogy is a method in which the music is contextualized in the history of a genre of
artist, adding how that historical background might have motivated the creation of the
new work.
P 9-13 – what do the authors mean by “metatext”? What are some important aspects to the
metatext for The Fame Monster?
“Metatext” is the collection of “critical discussions and reviews of an album as well as
the interviews with the artist.” The authors include several key aspects of Fame Monster
that are revealed in the metatext, including fame, “the monstrous other,” influence, and
activism.
pp 13-23: Read the Alejandro example. In what ways are the frameworks of pp 3-9 applied in
this example? What kinds of intertextuality are displayed? What meanings might be drawn from
this intertextuality?
The authors note how Lady Gaga’s song “Alejandro” borrows from several other songs,
including Abba’s “Fernando,” Ace of Base’s “Don’t Turn Around,” and Madonna’s “La
Isla Bonita.” This falls in line with intertextuality in that it is drawing on sources that
influence the tonal and harmonic landscape of the newly created song. Throughout the
analysis, the authors provide examples of musical stylings and allusions from other songs
in the form of melodic fragments, likeminded quoting of third-party material, form, and
lyrical choices throughout. These references made by Lady Gaga shows an understanding
of the style that she was creating in, while using the sounds of different elements from
that genre to influence her own musical choices. While some critics might call this over-
borrowing to the point of questioning its legality, there is a definite benefit to having
these familiar-sounding musical moments in the song.