Aesthetics of Pop Music

In this short book, the leading German cultural critic Diedrich Diederichsen puts forward a fresh and original account of pop music. He argues that pop music is not so much a form of music as a constellation of different media channels, social spaces and behavioural systems, of which music is only a part. Its own logic of attraction is based less on compositions and the expression of subjectivity and more on indexicality, real or pseudo-involuntary effects as recorded by sound technologies, and on studio discipline and staging, and hence on performance. By elaborating his innovative account of pop music as a constellation, Diederichsen develops a theory that distinguishes itself from sociology, cultural studies, media studies and ethnography, while at the same time drawing on and encompassing them all.

Preface I. Pop Music is a Form of Indexical Art II. Pop Music is the Second of Three Culture Industries III. At the Heart of Pop Music is No Object, but an Impulse to Connect IV. An Assembly of Effects and Small Noises V. Minus Music: Popularity and Criticism VI. Production Aesthetics Notes