3 ms·

I admire the guy's dedication in doing the analysis for each and every song in the band's discography. Despite music's enduring popularity, music "scholarship"

I admire the guy's dedication in doing the analysis for each and every song in the band's discography. Despite music's enduring popularity, music "scholarship" seems pretty rare outside of the odd coffee-table book. I remember in the web 1.0 days, I used to browse similar sites where fans would submit interpretations of lyrics from artists like Tool or System of a Down. I miss those sites. Lyrics are easier than ever to find online now, but not so much if you want to figure out what the song actually means.

jeppester 3y ago
I've had good success with https://songmeanings.com/ https://songmeanings.com/
OfSanguineFire 3y ago
Most lyric sites were ultimately supplanted by Genius, which does allow users to annotate lyrics and explain what is meant. Originally Genius was focused on hip-hop and its often arcane lyrics, but it has long since expanded to every popular-music genre. And before Genius there was songmeanings.com, which contains a great deal of commentary on rock and pop which has still not found its way to Genius. With regard to music scholarship dealing with popular music genres, there are popular book series like 33-1/3, scholarly monograph series like Ashgate’s Popular and Folk Music Series and Bloomsbury’s Ex:Centrics, and articles in the various musicological journals. Obviously the more erudite the artist, the more likely he/she will draw attention from scholars (which is why David Bowie and Kate Bush, for example, have been researched more than most pop musicians). But still, there may be more out there on your own favourite artists than you think.
- anigbrowl 3y ago
  That's a pity. It's easy for a smart firm to take over a space like this, but in doing so it kills all the lesser fan-driven versions. The latter are labors of love and vary widely in quality, but I'm not sure that a homogenized platform-product is superior.
Moomoomoo309 3y ago
They Might Be Giants has a fan wiki with all of that stuff, aptly named "This Might Be a Wiki", which makes sense given the kind of fans the band has.
- pvaldes 3y ago
  Another super nerd, super original group, but in this case with a much minor fanbase. Basically a minoritary cult group. The TMBG wiki will deserve a look. Thanks
deleted 3y ago
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jeppester 3y ago

I've had good success with https://songmeanings.com/ https://songmeanings.com/

OfSanguineFire 3y ago

Most lyric sites were ultimately supplanted by Genius, which does allow users to annotate lyrics and explain what is meant. Originally Genius was focused on hip-hop and its often arcane lyrics, but it has long since expanded to every popular-music genre. And before Genius there was songmeanings.com, which contains a great deal of commentary on rock and pop which has still not found its way to Genius. With regard to music scholarship dealing with popular music genres, there are popular book series like 33-1/3, scholarly monograph series like Ashgate’s Popular and Folk Music Series and Bloomsbury’s Ex:Centrics, and articles in the various musicological journals. Obviously the more erudite the artist, the more likely he/she will draw attention from scholars (which is why David Bowie and Kate Bush, for example, have been researched more than most pop musicians). But still, there may be more out there on your own favourite artists than you think.

anigbrowl 3y ago
That's a pity. It's easy for a smart firm to take over a space like this, but in doing so it kills all the lesser fan-driven versions. The latter are labors of love and vary widely in quality, but I'm not sure that a homogenized platform-product is superior.

Moomoomoo309 3y ago

They Might Be Giants has a fan wiki with all of that stuff, aptly named "This Might Be a Wiki", which makes sense given the kind of fans the band has.

pvaldes 3y ago
Another super nerd, super original group, but in this case with a much minor fanbase. Basically a minoritary cult group. The TMBG wiki will deserve a look. Thanks

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]