Log in


Journal of the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association

Volume 16, Number 1 (2016)

Insistency: A New Methodology for Lyrical Analysis

Paul Linden
Butler University

Abstract

This study proposes and demonstrates “insistency-based analysis” as a research tool for the study of popular music lyrics. Insistency analysis supports content analysis by considering lyrical repetition (motifs) over time as significant of artistic intent within a given body (population) of lyrics, in this case, those of Tom Waits. Literary review shows this study among a minority using computer-aided analytics in content analyses, while indicating the unrealized potential of structuralist literary analysis for studying popular lyrics. The method is a two-stage design in which the study sample (high frequency lyrics with strong distribution) provides rich content for structural analysis (qualitative). Opposing paradigms signify core issues such as “emptiness” or “solitude” whose particular, diachronic articulation across the discography may be studied for consistencies or developments in artistic expression. A practical demonstration of the method uses insistent lyrics and motifs to both signify artistic preoccupation and ultimately to test hypotheses regarding the development of Waits’ lyrical style.

Keywords: lyrical analysis, popular music, songwriting, Tom Waits, content analysis, structuralism, insistency, recording industry, research methodology

Linden, Paul. “Insistency: A New Methodology for Lyrical Analysis.” Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association 16, no. 1 (2016): 125-150. https://doi.org/10.25101/16.5

Click here to download pdf of the full article

1900 Belmont Blvd. Nashville, TN 37212
office@meiea.org    615-460-6946

Office and administrative support provided by
The Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software