We have been studying Bakhtin's conceptions of the utterance as a unit of language that takes part in a chain of communication, and, since we are going to be looking at music as a form of public utterance, it would be good to start with a discussion of whether or not a song can be seen as an utterance in Bakhtinian terms. Remember that for Bahktin an utterance stems from a preexisting conversation, uses the forms of a specific speech genre, expresses a non-neutral sentiment, exhausts a theme, follows a "speech will" and invokes a response from the listener.
I am posting a song below, and I would like you to give a brief argument for why this meets the qualifications of a speech utterance or not. You do not need to cover all of Bakhtin's criteria for the utterance, but your response should demonstrate an understanding of the concept of the utterance. I have chosen a song with a light topic for this first post so that you don't get too bogged down in the content. Focus of whether or not this counts as an utterance.
Mr. Harley
I find identifying this particular song difficult because there is not really a motive behind the song. He seems to be basically stating what he will be doing for the rest of his day as soon as he wakes up. The response isn't really there because the lyrics aren't in a specific genre or style. Although the speaker seems to have a speakers plan, I honestly can't really tell. I am interested to see what some of my peers have to say. I could use some help or examples of some points I'm maybe not seeing.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe this is a prime example of an utterance. It is an act of language with a complete thought that is influenced by other utterances that have been previously made within the punk rock society. The theme is about friendship and the singer is trying to identify with his audience about the punk rock party lifestyle and the importance and fun of having his “partner in crime”. The genre is clear as he uses specific terms to show what sort of public he is relating to, using words such as “I” or “oy” and referencing Steinkopf, a popular punk/thrash band. There is also a style prevalent in this song, which is supported not only textually through the singing but also by the instrumental aspect of the music.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe the song lyrics do count as an utterance. An utterance according to Bakhtin is a full idea in the text of any given genre. In this case the genre is in song lyrics are the genre. The full idea that I took from the song is that the artist who wrote the song feels alone and needs to spend time with his guy friends. This is making a statement and this message could have a deeper meaning. Back to the genre, you can tell by the word choice of the artist and the way he sings that the genre of the utterance was in mind; whether it was intentional or it just happened that way. All in all, this is a basic example of an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI can see this song as an utterance but I'm finding it hard to identify what type of utterance Bakhtin would see it as. While it is definitely a form of language and is a complete thought, I am not sure what the artist is really trying to do but just express himself. I agree with Kaylin that the artist is expressing he needs to hang out with other guys. Maybe it is because he is trying to say to everybody we need to hang out with people, or he literally just has to hang out with guys and wrote a song about it. I am not sure I know enough about the different types of utterances that I would be able to identify what type of utterance this would be. I have no doubt that it is definitely an utterance though, as the artist expresses a complete thought through song. You can tell exactly what the artist is conveying at a surface level, and one could also read into a deeper theme that may be within the song as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a complete utterance. It's a result of some sort of experience or conversation that inspired the artist to write this song. It is also demonstrating a complete thought: that he loves being with his guy friend/s. This utterance, however, seems kind of neutral to me because I'm indifferent about the song. It's a positive song, but I don't really feel I have a response to it, maybe since I'm female. But, maybe I'm misunderstanding the meaning of neutral as not provoking any particular thought in the listener because I know utterances can't be neutral, and I also believe that this is an utterance. I think the reason why some my thoughts and some of my peers thoughts are a bit contradicting may be because the song just simply isn't expressing a very diverse or controversial topic. Bottom line though, this is an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that this is an utterance. The utterance is controlled by its genre, which is punk/rock. Previous comments made by my classmates, points out that the song references a popular punk band and uses punk language such as "I" or "oy". The speaker also talks about going to a punk rock show, which lets us know that he is speaking to a punk rock audience. His plan or speech will is a shout out to his bros, hence the song title, "Manthem". He wants to let his audience know that all he really needs is to hang out with his guy friends. He wants to let everyone know that he and his bro are close, and he can balance time between his girl and guy friends.
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ReplyDeleteThis song is an utterance as it is the response to an experience, contains a full thought, and provokes a response. The lyrics explain that the singer was first alone and feeling a little down. Thanks to having friends, he simply “picked up the phone”, and found himself a good time at the Steinkopf performance. This experience resulted in the response of this song, Manthem. The full thought of the song lyrics is clear, that it is awesome to have great friends. The exhaustiveness of the theme is clear as the singer states, “He’s my friend, he’s my alibi”, “My accessory to the crime”, “A bond that will never die, till the end of time”, and “Loyal to my friends and fun”. This song is meant to provoke the listener to cherish his relationships with his friends. Mathem, by the Bouncing Souls is an Utterance.
DeleteI believe that this song is an utterance just in the fact that this is most likely coming from a preexisting conversation. Most likely this was a conversation amongst his group of friends, making it a private conversation that the Bouncing Souls have now made public with relatable lyrics in this song. His specific speech genre would be in the form of a song, or some sort of poetry if you see music in that sense. I think since the song is relatable in the fact that we all have a best friend relationship like the one explained in the song, this makes it have a non-neutral sentiment. This may not be a topic that someone would go into great depth about, however, the idea would be visited and revisited due to its nature. I also believe he pretty much exhausts the theme with the chorus. Over all, I do believe that Manthem by the Bouncing Souls is an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this song does represent an utterance. This song is a language act, that has thought of what he wants to do for the day. And, us as the listeners, wonder what he will decide to do for the night. He doesn't know what his plans are with his friends, and we can imagine what they will eventually be up to. He is holding a conversation with his friends, and his utterance stops when his friend begins talking. So I believe that this song is indeed an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI think that this song is a representation of an utterance. It follows the criteria of having a specific speech genre, exhausting a theme, and getting a complete thought across. The speech genre would appeal to people that listen to this type of music. He states over and over again that he will be hanging out with his friends which exhausts the theme, and by exhausting the theme he gets his complete thought across. It appears that this song would formulate from a preexisting conversation,and I think that any song will ivoke a response from a listener. Manthem by the Bouncing Souls is an utterance in its most simple form.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this song can be considered an utterance. As musicians, the objective is not only to create music for one's own pleasure, but also to get a response from the public. Musicians value the opinions of others when it comes to their music, and they desire for people to get enjoyment out of said music. The song is also a language act due to the fact that the singer is talking about his friends a significant amount. He has a specific theme that he exhausts throughout the song, therefore making it an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI consider this song an utterance. It fits the criteria set out by Bahktin as to what is an utterance. It has a speech genre, as a song with a specific audience. He exhausts his theme by continuously repeating what he is going to do for the day and that he is going to hang out with his friends. The song from beginning to end is a complete thought as well. Although I personally didn't take much from this song, I'm sure there are other people that would pick up on things that I didn't and it would evoke his audience. I absolutely consider this an utterance.
ReplyDeleteI would say that this song definitely falls into the criteria Bahktin lays out for being considered an utterance. There's an exhausted thought/theme by the singer talking about how he's going to go spend time with his friends and how. It also has a genre with a specific audience which would be people that enjoy punk music and the culture surrounding that. The repeated use of "I" also shows language shows that the singer has specific knowledge of punk music and culture that will allow him to connect with the genre and public he's speaking to. I'm not usually a big fan of punk music but this was an interesting way to think of the music I do listen to in a different way and looking for other ways to interpret it outside of just entertainment value.
ReplyDeleteI believe this song is.....a type of utterance. Musicians in general have a specific audience, a specific genre and a certain "message" they are trying to get out into society. This song in particular ( I personally do not see a message) but within the song there is a conversation, which identifies a style of utterance on how they communicate with each other, may not be the same way the communicate with let's say their mom or dad or grandmother. There is also an exhaustiveness of that "theme", how they keep going over the plan that they were going out, they were going to do SOMETHING, and to leave their girls at home. So you could say this is a utterance.
ReplyDeleteThis song shows an utterance in the fact that it is a complete thought about what the plan and feeling is... the song shows that the singer will always have his friends and will be there for them as well as they be there for him. In saying that, the utterance has been shown. it also shows how there is an exact audience that will react to the song and carry onthe utterance.
ReplyDeleteI think that this song is a good example of an utterance. The singer talks about seeing his boys and sticks to a specific speech genre throught the song. His audience is targeted with the word choice of lyrics and the references he makes to the punk rock lifestyle. The utterace stems from him wanting to see his friends and always being there for each other so they hangout and go see a show. This song gives off all the catagories that Bakhtin suggests makes an utterance.
ReplyDeleteThis song is a good example of an utterance. There is a clear message that he likes his friends and that he will always have them. The singer also uses the same speech genre throughout the whole song. The singer also exhausts that his friends are always there for each other no matter what, which makes it clear that is the theme. As listeners, this song makes us think about our lives and our friends as well.
ReplyDeleteThis song is a excellent example of utterance. The singer talks about seeing his friends and has the same speech genre through out the entire song. The singer is trying to relate his experiences with his friend with the punk rock genre. Listening to the song can help you relate back on your life and experiences with friends as well.
ReplyDeleteThis song is a perfect example of utterance. This song is very repetitive of how loyal him and his friends are to each other. Says how they will always have each others back. The utterance of the song changes through out talks about having each others back to wanting to hang out all the time to going to see a show together. This song really does show all the things that Bakhtin says is an utterance. Also most people can relate because this is how most people feel about their friends.
ReplyDeleteI believe personally that this song is a wonderful example of an utterance. An utterance is an idea someone is trying to make. Someone saying just one word can be an utterance. There are many different types of forms of an utterance such as a poem or a song or a speech. In the song it is talking about how he has a good friend that he can go to when he needs him. In this song, there are many short sentences that don’t fit in with the main purpose of the song. Listening to this song, many people can relate to the song because we all have a close best friend that we can go to and that will be there till the end of time.
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