"La La La, I'm not listening (but I really am)": Exploring the meaning of a rhythmic hook in rock and pop music.
The use of non-lexical vocables in popular music is a common production strategy. Building on vocal repetition, the integration effect, and hook and song meaning, this study explores the use of the specific lyrical phrase "la la la." Through a content analysis of rock and pop songs from 1960–2023 (n...
| Published in: | Atlantic Journal of Communication Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 525 - 546 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jul/Aug2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=186345165&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 186345165 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 15456870 U8J jtl: Atlantic Journal of Communication issn: 15456870 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul/Aug2025 vid: 33 iid: 3 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 186345165 10.1080/15456870.2025.2455516 ppf: 525 ppct: 21 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 791KB tig: atl: "La La La, I'm not listening (but I really am)": Exploring the meaning of a rhythmic hook in rock and pop music. aug: au: Knauf, Carl affil: Department of Journalism, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado su: Musicology Music education Popular music Music theory Musical aesthetics Songwriting sug: subj: Musicology Music education Popular music Music theory Musical aesthetics Songwriting ab: The use of non-lexical vocables in popular music is a common production strategy. Building on vocal repetition, the integration effect, and hook and song meaning, this study explores the use of the specific lyrical phrase "la la la." Through a content analysis of rock and pop songs from 1960–2023 (n = 138) and a listener survey (n = 153), the study also examines whether "la la la" is perceived to have more meaning than just a nonsensical rhythmic hook and if its usage transcends generational songwriting styles and listeners' musical tastes. The results yielded from the research suggest that there is more meaning, whether lyrically or from a songwriting perspective, to the use of "la" in mainstream music, and could add to the way people communicate in a more untraditional sense. This offers early support for sensical non-lexical integration, but more cognitive, musical theory, and musical education research is needed to further strengthen the concept and apply it to broader communication. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Atlantic Journal of Communication is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Atlantic Journal of Communication holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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