tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post6004976135547215002..comments2023-05-08T04:34:28.557-07:00Comments on Sydney's Blog: Calling all Sociologists!Sydneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17360198761136198922noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post-91233266197518647782008-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:002008-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00Country and R&B/Rap probably do share the same set...Country and R&B/Rap probably do share the same set of themes, now that you mention it. I guess it's really a question of what they do with those themes. R&B/Rap are more expository: here's what I did/do, here's why I'm awesome, damn sex with girls is awesome/crap breaking up sucks. There is an implied message of "If you want to have an awesome life and be like me, here are the things you can/should do." Country seems to be more identity building/reaffirming: here's what we do, here's why it's awesome to be x, don't you think sex with girls is awesome/don't you think breaking up sucks, also Jesus. <BR/><BR/>I really notice the use of the 2nd person in country music. A lot of it is "you... you... you...", which may be meant as 3rd person neutral (one) but has the effect of making it sound like the listener is specifically being addressed. R&B/Rap seem to talk more about "I" or a specific "You." Like Outkast's "I'm Sorry Miss Jackson;" all the yous in that song are addressed at a specific person. Another Outkast song, the wildly popular "I like the way you move," is ostensibly addressed to a specific girl. <BR/><BR/>What we really need in English is a marker of specific/general for our second person pronouns. Some languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive "we/us." Like if there are five people (A, B, C, D & E), B could say "We inclusive" and mean all 5. Or B could say "We exclusive" and mean just A & B, but not C, D & E. Sometimes it's a whole different pronoun, sometimes it's morphological (like an affix of some kind). Maybe we need a way of saying "You-anyone" versus "You-someone." Although that might ruin some of the subtlety of the language. Maybe that's why people say, "It's like he's speaking just to me" when they hear a song they really like. It would be pretty sad if all those girls who swooned over Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love," who could imagine themselves as the You, taking Elvis' hand and his whole heart too, were given a linguistic marker that the song was written to a specific girl that he knows and therefore not them.Sydneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17360198761136198922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post-55812284251390182142008-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:002008-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00I have been trying to think of how to respond to t...I have been trying to think of how to respond to this post for some time. I feel as though I <I> should </I> respond as perhaps the only regular reader of this blog that actually listens to country upon occasion. Yet, for some reason I have been having trouble getting my thoughts in order. Here goes anyway though.<BR/><BR/>First: I am going to have to disagree that G4 is actually gamer television. Although much of the programming (at least what I can see on it) has some electronic/video game edge to it, I don't think it actually appeals to the people that I consider video gamers. Perhaps my view on this are a little close minded but half drunk frat rats that like the Halo and are constantly talking about how drunk/stoned they are don't qualify. From what I have been able to see on G4, the video game content is aimed more at those "games" then anyone else. (Exceptions include Ninja Warrior etc.)<BR/><BR/>Secondly, from what I hear on the radio, it seems to me that not only would a thematic survey of current pop hits or current R&B hits would yield similar results. Moreover, depending on how broadly you are willing to define your terms, I bet you get a list that looks pretty similar.<BR/><BR/>Disjointed though they may be, there are my thoughts. I hope I didn't miss the point on this one.Beauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334562493204683212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post-64720357127248995152008-01-16T22:23:00.000-08:002008-01-16T22:23:00.000-08:00It's OK. We mathy types are easily bewildered by l...It's OK. We mathy types are easily bewildered by long texts without equations. Perhaps if you had some Latex-formatted formulas in the middle, it would have held my attention a little better...Sephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950623837896169505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post-83004583165731128862008-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:002008-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00Oh sad! I didn't mean to defeat you with my socimo...Oh sad! I didn't mean to defeat you with my socimological theories! :(Sydneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17360198761136198922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36817113.post-84291745637368396312008-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:002008-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00You win. I'm not sure exactly what you said, but y...You win. I'm not sure exactly what you said, but you win. Victory through exhaustion. Uncle.Sephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950623837896169505noreply@blogger.com