Adorno began but never finished a singspiel (a kind of German opera) based on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It would have been called The Treasure of Indian Joe. (Source.)


Adorno hated jazz, calling it "the false liquidation of art" and its fans "fanatics." He basically thought the musical style amounted to fashionable sameness. (Source.)


People say that Adorno has an "after Auschwitz" philosophy. For him, the barbarism of the Holocaust calls for thinking and action organized to prevent the repetition of such horror. Naive faith in the Enlightenment won't cut it. (Source.)


This dude was born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund. "Adorno" he adopted from his mother's surname. It's easier to spell, which sets him apart from most German philosophers. (Source.)


In another dimension, Adorno might have been a musician. He had remarkable talent—even gifted musicians recognized it. Would he have been as influential in the musical world as he proved to be in philosophy? We can only speculate. (Source.)


To the dismay of literary nerds everywhere, Adorno called science fiction a "subartistic genre." Phasers on stun, Trekkies. Phasers on stun. (Source.)

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