Regressive listening rejects the unfamiliar with childlike stubbornness

Evidence

There is actually a neurotic mechanism of stupidity in listening, too; the arrogantly ignorant rejection of everything unfamiliar is its sure sign. Regressive listeners behave like children. Again and again and with stubborn malice, they demand the one dish they have once been served. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 98

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• SEED: Angle for the reader’s test piece: an essay running this ‘neurotic stupidity’ test against, say, streaming-era listener behavior that self-reports only pre-approved genres.
• XREF: ‘Demand the one dish once served’ connects to the candy store betrayal and the administered-free-time thesis.