Write a Discussion – Adorno’s “On Popular Music” This week, you will be reading and responding to Theodore Adorno’s influential essay, “On Popular Music.” Download “On Popular Music.”As you read this essay and write your response, focus on the following questions: How does Adorno define popular music? What about it make it different from what he calls “serious music”? What are the concepts he describes as “standardization” and “pseudo-individualization,” and how do they relate to the “industry” model of popular music that we have been discussing in class? In what ways do these ideas apply to the popular music that is made today, or that you might listen to? In what ways does it not apply? Adorno’s accuses popular music of having certain potentially dangerous effects on society. Do you agree with his points? Why or why not? Have his arguments changed since he first made them in the 1930s? As you respond to Adorno’s essay, you might want to incorporate ideas from the Vox videos about music production: https://youtu.be/HzzmqUoQobc https://youtu.be/SENzTt3ftiU Do these videos change the way you think about the value of repetition or “mechanical” processes in popular music? Do they strengthen or weaken Adorno’s arguments?
