• Subverting the Verse–Chorus Paradigm: Terminally Climactic Forms in Recent Rock Music

    Author(s):
    Brad Osborn (see profile)
    Date:
    2013
    Group(s):
    Society for Music Theory (SMT), Society for Music Theory – Popular Music Interest Group
    Subject(s):
    Music theory
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    form, rock music, radiohead
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M66W9682D
    Abstract:
    This article defines and demonstrates a formal type I call ‘‘terminally climactic forms.’’ These forms, which appear frequently in rock songs after 1990, are characterized by their balance between the expected memorable highpoint (the chorus) and the thematically independent terminal climax, the song’s actual high point, which appears only once at the end of the song. After presenting the rationale for such forms, including new models of rock endings and climaxes, the article presents archetypes for three classifications of terminally climactic forms: two-part, three-part, and extended. Each archetype is supported by analytical examples from the post-millennial rock corpus.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. Date:
    2013
    Journal:
    Music Theory Spectrum
    Volume:
    35
    Issue:
    1
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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