Hardback
July 2, 2024
9780253069948
English
224
12 b&w illus.
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
$75.00 USD, £59.00 GBP
v2.1 Reference
Paperback / softback
July 2, 2024
9780253069955
English
224
12 b&w illus.
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
$35.00 USD, £27.00 GBP
v2.1 Reference

Taking Funny Music Seriously

Take funny music seriously! Though often dismissed as silly or derivative, funny music, Lily E. Hirsch argues, is incredibly creative and dynamic, serving multiple aims from the celebratory to the rebellious, the entertaining to the mentally uplifting.

Music can be a rich site for humor, with so many opportunities that are ripe for a comedic left turn. Taking Funny Music Seriously includes original interviews with some of the best musical humorists, such as Tom Lehrer, "the J. D. Salinger of musical satire"; Peter Schickele, who performed as the invented composer P. D. Q. Bach, the supposed lost son of the great J. S. Bach; Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome of the funny music duo Garfunkel and Oates; comedic film composer Theodore Shapiro; Too Slim of the country group Riders in the Sky; and musical comedian Jessica McKenna, from the podcast Off Book, part of a long line of "funny girls." With their help, Taking Funny Music Seriously examines comedy from a variety of genres and musical contexts—from bad singing to rap, classical music to country, Broadway music to film music, and even love songs and songs about death.

In its coverage of comedic musical media, Taking Funny Music Seriously is an accessible and lively look at funny music. It offers us a chance to appreciate more fully the joke in music and the benefits of getting that joke—especially in times of crisis—including comfort, catharsis, and connection.

About the Author

Lily E. Hirsch is Visiting Scholar at California State University, Bakersfield. She is author most recently of Can't Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono; Weird Al: Seriously; and Insulting Music: A Lexicon of Insult in Music.
Indiana University Press
Comedy & Culture

9780253069948 : taking-funny-music-seriously-hirsch
Hardback
July 2, 2024
$75.00 USD
9780253069955 : taking-funny-music-seriously-hirsch
Paperback / softback
July 2, 2024
$35.00 USD

Other Titles in SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies

Bicycles, Bangs, and Bloomers

Patricia Marks
Mar 2025 - University Press of Kentucky
$35.00 USD - Hardback
$12.95 USD - Electronic book text

The Grounds of Gaming

Nicholas Taylor
Nov 2024 - Indiana University Press
$85.00 USD - Hardback
$30.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Contesting Copyright

Augusta Dimou
Jul 2024 - Central European University Press
$105.00 USD - Hardback

Other Titles in Media studies

The Grounds of Gaming

Nicholas Taylor
Nov 2024 - Indiana University Press
$85.00 USD - Hardback
$30.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Staging Tianxia

Lanlan Kuang
Sep 2024 - Indiana University Press
$80.00 USD - Hardback
$35.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Contesting Copyright

Augusta Dimou
Jul 2024 - Central European University Press
$105.00 USD - Hardback