Friday, February 7, 2025

Creativity or Adornos Structural Standardization?

 Have you ever listened to the start of a song and realize 20 seconds in that you have completely got the wrong song? If you haven't that is impressive. There are so many hit songs that begin and end with the same tones. There are songs that even use the same lyrics. Adorno says "Listening to popular music is manipulated not only by its promoters but, as it were, by the inherent nature of this music itself, into a system of response mechanisms wholly antagonistic to the ideal of individuality in a free, liberal society." Basically what he is saying is popular music is popular because society says they are. I want to identify several songs that have the same beat or lyrics and have become hit songs. 

First example is Mariah Carrey's song called Fantasy came out in 1995. In 2022 the song Big energy came out with using the same beat and even similar lyrics of Mariah Carrey's Fantasy. Both songs were huge hits because of the beat. Interestingly enough the beat is almost exactly the same.  This showcases  Adorno's theory when he says" In hit music, however, the structure underlying the piece is abstract, existing independent of the specific course of the music. This is basic to the illusion that certain complex harmonies are more easily understandable in popular music than the same harmonies in serious music." He feel "hit" music is more about the understandable harmonies than the complexities of serious music being symphonies. In many ways I feel he is right, Fantasy and Big energy where hit songs because of the simple beat and good jam. 


Second Example of songs being the same lyrics would be Fergie's song Glamorous and Jack Harlow's song First Class. Both of these songs have the same lyrics that were originally created by Fergie but both songs were hits. To Adorno's point "hit" songs are simple so simple that using the same lyrics allows everyone to know the song which in turn they will listen to both. My question is for you do you feel we are loosing our creativity and that Adorno was right about "hit" songs or that using old hits for new hits is being creative? Do you feel that all "hits" are the same? 






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