some academic but thoughtful words below…
American art critic Clement Greenberg once remarked, “Kitsch is mechanical and operates by formulas. Kitsch is vicarious experience and faked sensations. Kitsch changes according to style, but remains always the same. Kitsch is the epitome of all that is spurious in the life of our times” (Greenberg 2). When evaluating music, one must keep in mind that the all encompassing pop music industry has effectively stripped music down to a commodified, formulized and often catchy beat, sound, rhythm, and lyrical style. It is no wonder that much of pop music sounds so similar to each other. Many musicians will be the first to tell you that much of pop music often utilizes the same four chords. This “Axis of Awesome” youtube clip reflects such a notion.
But many will argue that such a preconceived sound is what the people want and it doesn’t matter that everything streaming through our ears begins to take on similar sounds. This is definitely plausible. But music and pop critic T.W. Adorno argues in the 1940s that music as a standardized commodity has changed the true nature of music — that music, and all art forms, has the power to comment upon and change social realities. In a sense, it can enlighten us to the problems of society so that we may all be empowered (Adorno 214). If music carries such an important role in society, there should be a fear that popular music may hinder society’s ability to reflect and act upon important societal issues.
A counter-argument of Adorno comes with the realization that he was not living in our socially conscious decade. It seems that much more popular music has attempted to veer towards shedding light on key issues of our times and having a conscious social impact on listeners. Although not all music produced can attest to this, there seems to be a genuine trend towards a more “globally” minded music movement. Robert Burnett, author of “The Global Jukebox,”seems to find that music has gone international and has changed the nature of commercialized pop music. Music is becoming a more globalized entity every day.
But maybe Lady GaGa’s “Disco Stick” or Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas” are for pure entertainment purposes? This may be true; but what audiences should realize is that they may feel they have a choice in the music they listen to but in reality most of it has already been decided upon by the powers of media (Adorno 216). So what can we do about our ears being infiltrated by the powers of popular kitsch, MTV, and the billboard’s grasp in dictating what we listen to?
Well… there may be some hope. I believe that the the internet has changed the way many listeners promote, discover, share, and even remix new music (that isn’t played anywhere on the radio!). Now, more than ever, listeners are capable of sharing the endless amounts of non-commodified music that we all stumble upon in blogs, social networking sites, new myspace bands, and my new favorite site: hypem.com. Our generation is now capable of listening to never-before heard music from around the world, experience remixes, new songs, and share creativity and personal experiences with music never possible in previous decades. The fluidity of producing, listening, and sharing online has, to some extent, placed music back in the hands of the artists. For all the listeners out there, this should truly be music to your ears.
— MS 102 class blog assignment.
citations:
Greenberg, Clement. “Avant Garde and Kitsch.” 11 Oct. 2009
Adorno, T.W. “On Popular Music.” Kenyon Review, 1945. 208-217.
music blend 