But Adorno can't tell the whole story. If he were right, listeners would be passive dupes — and clearly they are not. This is where the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies becomes useful. Andy Bennett, building on CCCS work, argues that music is a resource through which we shape who we are (Bennett, 2015, p. 144). Subcultures gather around shared sounds. Songs anchor us to people, places, and earlier versions of ourselves. If music really does make identity and community, then th