Unlike classical music, Adorno goes even further when discussing the
Tin Pan Alley produced songs. Adorno came at these songs ferociously,
pointing at the particular susceptibility of the popular song. Repetitive
chords, weak harmony, the verse- chorus form Adorno claimed froze
adults in a ‘permanent state’ of ‘adolescence and naivete’ (Warwick, 2017,
p193). In these songs we see what Adorno refers to as ‘the regression
of listening’. ‘the mass audience is adamantly rejecting the possibility
of a higher form of music’ (Briccetti, 2010). The listener is rejecting
everything unfamiliar. This he sees as childish, the id has overcome us,
as we choose to listen to musically simpler songs than more complex art
forms, like that of Mahler. We have mentally regressed into a childlike
state as we refuse to challenge ourselves in favour of something we
understand. The short lifespan of a hit Tin Pan Alley song Adorno likens
to a child becoming disinterested quickly in a toy (Warwick, 2017, p194).
It could be argued that it is a similar case for the production of jazz
music: the beat of the kick drum underlying syncopations is necessary
as the listener cannot understand a more complicated rhythm due to
their regressed nature.
Witkin disagrees with Adorno, and states that jazz should not be perceived
as lowly as Tin Pan Alley, as jazz is developed in live performance.
Unlike classical, jazz does not turn performers into ‘mere executants’,
but instead it is a living art (Witkin, 1998, p160). There is strength to
this argument, as the improvisational nature of jazz cannot be denied.
Yet Adorno counters this by suggesting that jazz (like Tin Pan Alley) is
formulaic- improvisation only masks the rigid commodified nature of the
genre. The pretence of originality, ‘excess’ and ‘vibrancy’ increase its
marketability to a docile audience who have become regressed (Witkin,
1998, p160). Yet it must be said that Adorno needs to deconstruct jazz
to validate his critique of mass culture in general. Witkin again disputes
Adorno’s ‘wholly negative opinions’ on jazz, claiming that despite him
living until the 1960s Adorno never commented on the considerable
development in jazz that occurred during those 30 years (Witkin, 1998,
p170). It wasn’t only that jazz was popular, but in jazz he heard the
opposite of what its devotees wanted.
A decision on the relation of ‘serious’ and popular music can only be
made by examining the fundamental characteristic of popular music:
standardisation (Adorno, 2002, p438). The whole structure of the pop
song is standardised, even when attempts are made to evade it. Even
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