On Popular Music

Adorno's "On Popular Music" touched on the issue of standardization. Adorno concentrated on "2 spheres of music". Which he called serious and popular. Adorno explains how all popular music is the same or in his words "standardized". Popular music sounds the same which is why people love it. No matter how many times people here a different song, if you can listen to it without thinking about the song or engaging this is what will draw the listener in. This is how popular music becomes so quickly to sell. People look for the same things in songs to receive a meaning of how life should be. People by music of the same genre faster than they will if a new song comes out telling something different each time. An example of a popular song, even though this song is not as popular as it was back then, it still portrays a standardized song. The song "promises,promises" is a song that constantly repeats the word "promises" throughout the whole song. This song is portraying to the world how someone close to you can make promises and then don't keep them. From childhood to falling in love, many promises will be made that wont be kept in the end. A lyric from the song says "You made me promises, promises. You knew you'd never keep. Promises, promisesWhy do I believe?" This is how people in the world really feel. Sometimes it takes a song that your listening to, to portray how you really truly feel about certain situations. People feel they are tired of being lied to and having their hearts broken. Adorno said this is what popular music is cause it expresses the feelings that some people are too scared to say. These type of songs follow the same rules throughout all the verses.

Naked Eyes- Promises,Promises (1983). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Q83DPZy6E