Standardization refers to the form and production of a song, wherein a sense of familiarity is constructed through pre-conceived reactions to popular music. The listener is expected to enjoy and consume certain songs with particular structures, and as a result the song is 'pre-digested' to suit this familiarity, "The composition hears for the listener."
The concept of pseudo-individualization is a product of Adorno's 'system of response mechanisms' which he claims are in stark contrast to the "...ideal of individuality in a free, liberal society." The consumer is part of a "collective experience" more than anything.
In the second part of the articles, Presentation of the Material, Adorno focuses branding, visual stimulus and plugging. Adorno uses the term plugging more broadly, in that he refers to the repetition of similar processes in production and song structures in pop music. He talks of the paradox in his theory of plugging; "To be plugged, a song hit must have at least one feature by which it can be distinguished from any other and yet possess the complete conventionality and triviality of all others." This, Adorno writes, can only be achieved by plugging outside the boundaries of the actual music, therefore an emphasis on the presentation of the music is required. The culture is therefore recognized by the listener as well as the conventional song structure, typical of any form of branding, a "...substitute for the lack of genuine individuality in the material."
This is part of overall consumption of popular culture, not just music. The theory of effortless entertainment inducing the consumer in a state of relaxation through reproduction of popular taste and opinion. Finally, Adorno claims that the forms in which popular culture could mainly be consumed at the time, movies and music, allure the consumer into a state of fantasy wherein they are made aware of the perfection of depicted individuals - forcing them to admit that they can never be what they consume; they "...have no part in happiness."
Skepta's 'Sunglasses at Night' is typical of the now heavily standardized song structure in which former grime artists have become accustomed to. The foundation of this trend was the level of popularity and consumption of Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex', creating the formula for artists' to follow. Artists like the two mentioned, Lethal Bizzle, Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk - when considered part of the sub-genre of grime - all typically worked with half-time 140bpm instrumentals of varying song structures. It's now an obvious convention to write songs that have a 4x4 kick drum, are around 130bpm and carry the structure of standardized pop music, pre-digested for the listeners consumption. This track, and in a wider sense the association of grime MC's with heavily standardized pop music, can also be attributed to pseudo-individualism - the consumer may buy into the association with grime as much as his/her response to the compositions.
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