Theodore Adorno's - Theory of music and its social implication

From this lecture i have come away with a few notes and perhaps if i am to investigate further a few interesting theories as well. I have noted down a particular part of the lecture that did somewhat spark my interests as i felt it could tie in to what i am looking at in COP if not directly relatable in some ways it can also serve as a stepping stone to further other areas of research or ideas. 

The particular part that interested me was through a theory of a man called Theodore Adorno. This guy wrote his very own 'Theory of music and its social implication'. What i found quite amazing is his insightful arguments and ideas which were almost premonitions about the future ways in which the music would develop and what impact it would have socially on the people of his future, despite the fact that his theory was written in 1941. 

In a nutshell, his theory was declaring that pop music is and will be (in his case) written to set formulas with the same pattern appearing over and over again. That the music is designed to be repeated for commercial purposes and how it is produced in a way that would suggest 'formulaic production'. Which also suggests it pretty much does the thinking for you. 

Adorno picked up on the points of the 'established formula' and that the 'pop' in popular music promotes passivity which in turn reduces creativity. 

Its worth relating Adorno's ideas into modern terms as after all for it to be written in 1941 it does get to a certain point where you take it with a pinch of salt as as far as i'm aware all Adorno had to relate to was Vera Lynn and George Formby? 

So other points in todays terms such as Record studios and the musical 'machine' that it could be known as, certainly true through Pink Floyd's eyes. One point that the lecture picked up on was the controversy (which of course is a key word for me) of record companies releasing songs and albums with different artists but in particular how stories of musicians help things seem more interesting which could be dubbed as 'Pseudo individualism' which enforces the idea of the false idol. 

Going back to Adorno in his theory there is very much an obvious point of seeing how he hated musics psychological effect and how in certain ways it creates 'Rhythmically obedient' and 'emotional' types. 

Through this idea he related pop music as a 'robotic' 'Fordist' system, with this idea of the conveyer belt churning out the mechanical structured formula that pop music is today and how the people who absorb that way of music are perhaps brainwashed to it and maybe don't recognise the 'same-iness'element. 

And finally to end on the greatest phrase that came from the lecture which relates to the last point i made which was the people brainwashed are...

'Dancing to the rhythm of their own oppression' 

- Richard Miles, 2016