BAYBAYIN vol. I, no. 1 (August 2015) http://www.baybayin.com.ph ISSN 1908-4697 68 THE “FALSE” OF CONTE MPORARY PHILIPPINE SOCIETY: ADORNO, IMMANENT CRITIQUE AND POPULAR MUSIC Raniel SM. Reyes ABSTRACT: Initially, I will provide a truncated elucidation of the foundations of Theodor Adorno’s philosophy of immanent critique. Secondly, I will present his criticism of the capitalist-configured popular music and its effect to the degeneration of Philippine popular music. Next, I will use immanent critique as a philosophical device to analyze the manifold problems plaguing the contemporary Philippine society through the songs of some Filipino popular musicians, namely, Yano, Gloc-9 and Dicta License. An appendage to this is my attempt to accentuate the presence of a “critical impulse” in their select songs despite popular music’s stereotyping as being devoid of societal relevance. Of course, this is not to say that emancipatory popular music is a new phenomenon in the Philippine music industry. My main argument rather is that advance capitalism’s increasingly commodifying and menacing effects to individuals pose an extremely difficult challenge to present critical popular musicians. Lastly, I will explain some potential spaces for emancipation or more critical perspective in looking at the Filipino human condition that can be fashioned via these protean musical “artworks.” KEYWORDS: Adorno, Immanent Critique, Popular Music, Yano, Dicta License, Gloc-9 The splinter in your eye is the greatest magnifying glass. - Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia If mass communications blend together harmoniously, and often unnoticeably, art, politics, religion, and philosophy with commercials, they bring these realms of culture to their common denominator – the commodity form. The music of the soul is also the music of salesmanship. Exchange value, not truth value counts. - Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man