Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book uses Billie Holidays 1959 live video-recorded performance of Strange Fruit as a case study applying ironic cognition theory first to the lyrics and then grafting it onto the musical and performative aspects of the performance as a means of revealing and demonstrating musical irony. Irony holds a special place in the long history of literature, conversation, political discourse, and artistic representation as a high-risk/high-reward tactic. Historically, literary theory has dominated irony discourse, but in the past few decades listeners and scholars alike have come to recognize music as fertile ground for exploring ironic intentions, expressions, and interpretations impossible in other mediums. Western pop musics and art musics repurposed to popular ends, with their mass appeal, trend-setting potential and aura of popularity not to mention cultural ubiquity are collectively rife with layers of ironies.