To sum up Theodor Adorno in a few words, he was a marxist ideologist with a difference. He applied these theories to 20th century culture. In this task I will focus on a Adorno essay on popular music.
Adorno believed there were two 'spheres of music', popular music, which was highly standardized for a particular market, and 'serious music' which he believed was authentic culture because it pushed the boundaries and didn't conform to the model of popular music. This is backed up in Adorno's essay with the reference of what he believes popular music to consist of 'Best known is the rule that the chorus consists of thirty two bars and that the range is limited to octave and one note. The general type of hits are also standardized...' (Adorno, W 1941 Pg1).
Adorno goes on to talk about industry mechanisms which sees music released not in a creative capacity but from a business sense. This is definitely an argument that holds its strength in terms of the reality television where 'artists' compete for a music contract. 'Structural standardization aims at standard reactions. Listening to popular music is manipulated not only by its promoters but but, as it were by the inherent nature of this music itself, into a system of response'. (Adorno, W 1941 Pg1). The fact that most finalists on these reality shows eventually release singles tell us that it is less of a competition, and more of a business.
Adorno's next point has made me think differently about technology. Last.FM is a website that allows users to sign up for accounts and list their favourite artists. The website takes the information from the user and gives them a list of artists that they may not have heard of. My originally thoughts on this were that it would expand our musical tastes, however, this is not the case. The artists and band names churned out produced the same music as the ones listed. So therefore, the feature actually narrows your music tastes, and restricts you to one genre. Adorno writes 'Popular music becomes a multiple-choice questionnaire. The listener is encouraged by the inexorable presence of these types physchologically to cross out what he dislikes and check what he likes.' (Adorno, W 1941 Pg2)
The use of repetition is mentioned also. Radio and Television advertisements are still heavily geared toward what Adorno calls 'plugging'. The process involves the 'ceaseless repetition of one hit in order to make it successful'. Adorno argues that any song described as popular music can become a hit on the back of this constant plugging. Radio stations such as BBC radio 1 have a strict playlist which requires them to constantly play the same 'chart' music each day and unsurprisingly as one hit begins its fall down the chart, the next is ready to come from the production line.
Radio 1 works on the basis of the listener recognizing the songs they hear and for it to become their playlist for the month. I suppose the recognition of a certain beat or rhythm reminds the listener what they are supposed to like when the next hit is played for the first time. 'Mass listening habits today gravitate about recognition. Popular music and its plugging are focussed on this habituation. The basic principle behind it is that one need only repeat something until it is recognized in order to make it accepted.' (Adorno, W 1941 Pg3)
Adorno tries to define the listener, and does this by splitting the listener into two groups, the 'rhythmical' and the 'emotional' type. The rhythmical type is obedient to rhythm and beat. The emotional type, is linked through their emotions and shows a deeper connection. At this point in the essay, I would start to question Adorno's theories and judgement, when applied to modern culture. I think that it is correct to assume some sort of rhythmical obedience when discussing youth culture and socializing in clubs and pubs. However, becoming mechanically agglutinized with any rhythmic beat is a little wide of the mark in regards all young people.
I think it's difficult not to agree with some of the points made by Adorno, as these claims can be applied to modern popular music. Of course popular music is not controlled by one genre. The examples below are music videos of Green Day, a highly successful American Pop Punk band. I enjoy their music but I can see why Adorno's theories can be argued successfully when examples like these are used. I've picked these two examples because the theory can not only be applied to genres of music, it can be applied to the bands in some cases. Most of the american pop punk bands can be seen as standardizing with the inherent use of palm muting, pick slides and similar effects used within each piece of music.
However, while there is a demand for the mass culture that invades our music industry, and people are buying into the notion that Lady Gaga's single was different to the last and that Amanda Burke is not just a evil reincarnation of Leona Lewis, who is herself a an evil reincarnation of another R'n'B singer, then the music 'business' will prevail.
Green Day - Know Your Enemy
Green Day - American Idiot
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