The use of irony in music is just beginning to be defined and critiqued, irony in popular music being especially worthy of study because it is pervasive, even fundamental to the music, the business of making music and the politics of messaging. Contributors to this collection address a variety of musical ironies found in the ¿notes themselves, ¿ in the text or subtext, and through performance, reception and criticism. This interdisciplinary volume creates new methodologies and applies existing theories of irony to musical works that have made a cultural or political impact through the use of this most multifaceted of devices.