Pop Music is More Than a Genre, Argues Critic Diedrich Diederichsen

Diedrich Diederichsen, a renowned music and art critic, professor, and curator, is challenging conventional definitions of pop music. In his complex, informed, and provocative work, 'Aesthetics of Pop Music' (Polity Press, 2023), Diederichsen argues that pop should not be understood as a musical genre.

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In this complex, informed, and provocative work, the author proposes that we conceive of pop not as a musical genre, but as a constellation of images, practices, behaviors, media, social spaces, sounds, and experiences.

Instead, he proposes viewing pop as a vast constellation encompassing images, practices, behaviors, media, social spaces, sounds, and experiences. Within this framework, the music itself becomes merely one component among many. Diederichsen, 68, contends that pop music, despite its diverse subgenres like rock, metal, rap, and blues, cannot be identified as a singular musical category.

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That is, for this author and thinker, in the experience and aesthetics of this constellation, music itself is just another element.

This theoretical perspective invites a deeper examination of how pop culture functions beyond its auditory elements, integrating visual, social, and experiential dimensions into its definition. Diederichsen's work encourages readers to consider the multifaceted nature of pop and its pervasive influence on contemporary life.

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In summary, for Diederichsen, 68, pop (although it can unfold into a myriad of sub-domains: rock, metal, rap, blues, progressive rock, etc.) is not an identifiable musical genre.