Adorno and the theory of popular music

Adorno's theory of music starts with the divide between popular and serious music. Popular music is what is seen as recognised at the time in our culture. His theory leads us to believe that standardized 'pop' music are essentially the same. His theory talks about how we are listening to the same sound over and over and that 'pop' music has to keep within certain rules and limitations. Pseudo-individualization is what Adorno refers too for this standardization. This is where people are lead to believe that they are all being different, with different tastes etc, however in reality we are all buying the same stuff, interested in the same things etc.

Adorno stresses about how a song being 'plugged' (played continuously) it will get recognition and become popular with listeners.

Below: Leona Lewis' cover of 'Run' by Snow Patrol sets a prefect example of how a cover which had previously been a massive success can be altered or sang by a different artist and once again have massive media coverage and recognition.

Notes/Handouts 2

Notes/Handouts

Lecture notes 2

More notes from a second lecture. Once again i chose to note down essential info from the lecture. Although i was interested in ideology and marxism - I still find myself thinking back to Bentham and Foucaults theories on the panopticon and panopticism.

Above i made a few notes on how the theory of panopticism is enforced in open plan bars. The list includes points like: cameras, lighting, long bars, bouncers to observe behavior.

Panopticism : Big Brother!

An obvious example of panopticism is the worldwide recognised reality TV show - Big Brother.

What is Big brother?

A house which is wired too the roof with cameras. Cameras in the bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, living area, outdoors, sheds etc. The idea of the show is too have a number of contestants (random members of the public) live in the house under the watchful eye of the public, and week by week get voted off the show.

This is a prefect example of panopticism. Due to the fact that the contestants are aware of the watchful public and the obvious sights of the cameras in the corner of each room. Originally, with being aware of the cameras, the housemates felt as though they had to respect each other fully and act to a respectable manner. Where as in the latest series, housemates felt they should act up, give the viewing public the impression of mad personalities and stupid behavior - all being put on with the knowledge of what the public 'want' too see.

The latest logo for Big Brother series 11

Websites

Some website which i came across while researching Foucault's theory of panopticism. Some of these sites i feel may become useful in the future. Best take a note of the sites before i loose them.

• http://cartome.org/panopticon1.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticism
• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/364318/panopticism_explaining_the_concept.html
• http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a713766635

Lecture notes 1

The notes below are from our lecture on Panopticon. I tried to take down essential info including: names, books, quotations etc. I feel my essay will be based upon the theory of panopticism and the design of the panopticon.

I found myself very interested in this lecture and have since created a reading list for a potential essay. The list includes:

• Punishment and Culture - Philip Smith
• Punishment and Retribution - Leo Zaibert
• Prisons and Prison Systems - Mitchel P Perth
• Discipline and Punishment. The birth of the Prison - Michael Foucault