Adorno-Music as a fetish and nothing more

"Responsible art adjusts itself to criteria which approximate judgments: the harmonious and the inharmonious, the correct and incorrect. But otherwise, no more choices are made" (2).

The familiarity of the piece is a surrogate for the quality ascribed to it. To like it is almost the same thing as to recognize it" (3).

Music is purely background noise and value judgments are laid down based on familiarity or the conditions during which you listening to it. Were you having fun at a club and the song enabled you to dance? Were you in post break-up agony and the song made you sad? These are the things we base our value judgments on; these and the actual purchasing of the concert ticket, song on iTunes, etc., weather we liked the concert or the song afterward, it does not matter, our vote has been cast.

"The delight in the moment and the gay facade becomes an excuse for absolving the listener from the thought of the whole, whose claim is comprised in proper listening" (5).

This initial argument of Adorno's made me immediately think of the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke.

This song is about the "blurred line" between yes and no in a club, between dirty dancing and having sex, between being into it, and rape. "I know you want it, but you're a good girl, the way you grab me means you must want me."

When this song came out, with it's catchy hook and fun beat, it was played on the radio every five seconds and the clubs went crazy for it, because it made people dance and groove; it made them happy to listen to it. Nobody was really listening to the words and what they meant. Then, however, someone finally blew the whistle and brought to the fore what the song was really about, and over night it became taboo to listen to it. But this wasn't because they didn't like the song. I'm willing to bet when it "accidentally" came up on their playlist, they still bounced their shoulders to it; no, it's because society deemed it outrageous (which it is).

Adorno uses the examples of the violins. People get so caught up in detecting the Stradivarius that they fail to listen to the whole composition and meaning.

According to Adorno, our culture no longer listens for meaning or even talent. Especially in popular music, the value judgments are if it's familiar, or if it sounds like a previous hit. And I definitely agree with him! So many "musicians" today don't even sing or play instruments. They use autotune and other technology to synthesize their voices, or they "sing-talk" (Kanye, Keisha, etc.). And this lack of actual talent is pervasive and obvious, yet we say nothing and keep reinforcing our "like" of it with iTunes purchases and concert tickets. Take Fifth Harmony and their song "Worth It", for example. This is the same exact song as Jason Derulo's  "Talk Dirty." Adorno points out that "Most of them sound like imitations of those who have already made it, even when they themselves have made it" (10). There are a zillion examples of how all pop songs are exactly the same! Iggy and Brittany with Fancy and Pretty Girls, Katy Perry with Roar, and then after that Rachel Platten with Fight Song, etc., etc., etc. And yet we say nothing, demand nothing more from our artists, and convince ourselves that what they are doing IS art, to make ourselves feel better for our low standards. But really, it's just that society has collectively allowed this sub-par "art" to be made and constantly reinforced as "art" by the pacification of the liquidized individual.

But if this music is making us "happy," should we blow the whistle on that? It has become "popular" music because of how successful it is at making us "happy." I put that word in quotes because Adorno says we aren't really Happy, we are essentially deaf, dumb, and blind. But ignorance is bliss, so it's your call.