Blog Task: On Popular Music

Kylie Minogue: Can't Get You Out of My Head.

Can't Get You Out of My Head proves that 'the whole structure of popular music is standardised' (Adorno, 1941). It successfully manages to stick in people's heads because there are very few aberrations, and when they occur, it soon 'leads back to the same familiar experience'. One can fully know what to expect in the entirety of the track just from listening to the introduction. Adorno describes it as 'the whole is pre-given and pre-accepted'.

Adorno states that 'it is imperative to hide standardisation' and this is because 'the reality of individual achievement must be maintained'. In this instance for example, Kylie retains her individual image but is merely another cog in the wheel of Parlophone.

Woman as Object

Much like many of her videos, this video portrays Kylie as an object to be admired. The entire concept is based on a scopophilic pleasure.

In terms of beauty being dictated from men, is there any better example than Kylie's video for 'Slow'? There is a heavy spectators gaze with Kylie often in the emphasised centre of the shot.

Both of the videos shown above are almost so obvious in demonstrating the standardisation of popular music and displaying the woman as an object that one would be forgiven for thinking the videos are parodistic. Of course in truth, the tracks are not parodistic, they are simply pre-digested.