Adorno divides music into two distinct categories: Serious and non serious: with serious music relying on the whole to function and demanding concentration from the listener, whereas non-serious music relies on repetition: both within the piece of music, and in its role within society “,one need only repeat something until it is recognised in order to make it accepted,” and offers near instant gratification.
Adorno states that they underlying characteristic of all non-serious music is the idea of “standardisation:” essentially all non-serious music is actually the same., and “pre digested.” In the field of non-serious music there is no innovation, and nothing new ever introduced, resulting in the same response from the listener “: structural standardisation aims at standard reactions.” Non-serious music must be both stimulatory and appear naturalistic: this is can be achieved through a sense of nostalgia, stemming from childhood, “genuine and pseudo nursery rhymes are combined with purposeful alteration of the lyrics of original nursery rhymes in order to make them a hit.” Within this music “extravagances are tolerated only insofar as they can be “re-cast” into this natural language.”
However, in order to be successful and be “plugged”, new music, must appear “new,” and needs to contain an element that sets it apart from its predecessors “, endowing cultural mass production with the halo of free choice,”
“the publisher wants a piece of music that is fundamentally the same as all current hits and simultaneously different from them.”
Adorno refers to this as “pseudo individualisation. ” Adorno argues that one of the tools central to the veil of “pseudo individualisation” is “name bands,” with popular music becoming “ a multiple choice questionnaire.”
In regards to the “customers” of non-serious music, Adorno presents them in such a way that they appear subhuman:
“to become an insect , a man needs the energy which might possibly achieve his transformation into a man.”
“Customers” of popular music are described as “jitterbugs”, who are “attracted passively by some given stimulus, such as light,” or music. Adorno presents the idea that “jitterbugs” are in a cycle from which they cannot escape: they go to work, they are bored, they avoid any effort in their leisure time, they begin to crave a stimulant, they listen to popular music, are stimulated, and then they are bored again, and they go back to work, and the cycle repeats: “escape is impossible.”
“Escape provided by popular music actually subjects the individuals to the very same social powers from which they want to escape.”
In the music video to “Complicated” by Avril Lavinge, the viewer is presented with a traditional “non serious” song, which attempts to stimulate, through blatant use of “pseudo individualisation.”
The video begins with:
“S’up Boys… Hey Dude, you wanna’ crash the mall?
Immediately, the viewer is presented with a “star” that appears “non traditional.” Avirl not only skates, but she hangs around with boys instead of girls!
Whilst the structure of the song is standardized, as is the subject: relationship problems, it is presented in a way that appears “new,” through attempting to hijack the “skater” subculture. Avril, herself, appears powerful, presenting an extremely condensed version of the ideas present in the “riot grrrl” movement. Whilst those featured directly in the video appear “orginal,” they are all subjects of the commodification of subcultures.
Avril, and her friends then engage in a rampage, fuelled by hate of the “norm” and conformity, through a hub of consumerism: a device which both simultaneously mocks consumer culture whilst “plugging” the product.
Although the video clearly places itself in the market, with an underlying theme of rebellion: speaking clearly to angry adolescents, the song is standardised and fits, directly into the “pop hit “ category. It appeals to a much larger demographic: with teenagers seeing the video on the TV, and adults listening to it on the radio, as a “break up” song:” with the opening line of the song being “life is like this,” the older audience may feel as though the song sympathises directly with them, forming a strong, yet non existent connection.
It is both stimulatory and naturalistic: the song employs repetition throughout, coaxing the listener into whistling the tune, and telling all their friends about it. Both groups feel the music speaks to them directly, therefore, feeling compelled to invest in the product.
No comments:
Post a Comment