Us and Them is a story written by David Sedaris regarding his experiences with a family he grew up during his childhood known as the Tomkeys. The Tomkeys were the main subject of the story as the narrator is reflecting on his time spent observing the Tomkeys. The main reason for this was the fact that the Tomkeys did not own a television which was a sign of interest for the narrator as a child. The narrator, David Sedaris, stated “I attributed their behavior to the fact that they didn’t have a TV, but television didn’t teach you everything” (1). I personally thought that the story was rather interesting in regards to concept of uniqueness and variance within society. The concept of a TV was so common in society at the time of writing that the narrator thought that not having one was reason enough to be called strange. This story was interesting as well in regards to how the TV can affect the social dynamic of a family and even in school. Sedaris stated, “Because they had no TV, the Tomkeys were forced to talk during dinner. They had no idea how puny their lives were, and so they were not ashamed that a camera would have found them uninteresting” (1). With this statement Sedaris believes that the TV was negatively affected the family dynamic and causing the concept of talking to each other to be obsolete, which I believe to be the main message of the story. I personally have noticed the concept of technology affected the social life of me and my friends. At times when I am with my family we never talk to each other and instead focus our attention on watching Netflix or being on our phones. I feel that this concept of technology affecting social dynamics is extremely relevant, especially as time goes on and technology becomes increasingly more advanced. My view of technology and its relevance in society is not changed, without modern technology life would certainly be much more difficult, but yet, I still do feel that technology has unforeseen impacts on our life such as the social impact of technology. The reason though why this is not so relevant because it appears that the impact of technology in this manner is subtle compared to other impacts. This is one thing that Sedaris highlights that I really enjoy about Us and Them, he makes the message of the story rather subtle and forces the reader to read through it a couple times to understand the full scope of the story. He uses subtle nuances to project his message yet does it in a way that forces the reader to think about his message. However, this is a blessing and a curse, as I feel that someone who does not pick up on the message of the story will feel confused and unaware of what Sedaris is trying to say, which is obviously not the goal for any writer. Regardless, I personally enjoy the story and understand what Sedaris portrays through it.

Michael Mackay

Karlianne Seri

WRT 102.72

12 February 2018

The Artistry of Superstition by Stevie Wonder

Superstition by Stevie Wonder was a revolutionary song for its time, founding the basis for the revival of  funk music and launching Stevie Wonder into critical success as the then known “King of Funk”. This song was first released along his 1972 album Talking Book which was received with positive remarks. However, the single on that album, Superstition, reached number 1 in the United States music charts and number 11 on the United Kingdoms music charts, causing a sharp incline in album sales for Talking Book, arguably being the reason behind why this album and even Stevie Wonder himself gained so much commercial success. Superstition is a song that delves into the concept of superstition within society and explains Stevie Wonder’s viewpoints on the concept, using his musical abilities and talents to express his opinion on the long-lasting element of superstition in the world. Stevie Wonder uses his upbeat music and easy to understand lyrics to attract any potential listener, appealing to the listener’s pathos and logos, respectively. Through this and his past experiences, he attempts to persuade the listener that superstitions are illogical in society and aims for the listener to abandon such fallacies.

Stevie Wonder uses pathos, or the ability to emotionally appeal to an audience, through the structure of his music within the song. Stevie Wonder uses a “hook approach” to his music style in Superstition, which is an approach where the musician composes one main riff for the song and repeats that motif throughout the entire song.[1] This is evident from hearing the intro riff of the song which was an upbeat clavinet progression that is used throughout the song. For this riff, Stevie Wonder harmonizes his vocals around this riff, maintaining the relevancy of the riff in the song. The reason he does this is that he wants to highlight the upbeat nature of the riff and grab the attention of the listener. An upbeat rhythm is a rhythm that is on the off-beat of the rhythm, making the song sound more energized and giving the song more momentum. Stevie Wonder uses this type of rhythm to entice the listener by affecting the emotions of the listener, causing the listener to feel more eccentric and motivated after listening to the song. Stevie, in this way, methodically chose his musicianship in order to appeal to the listener’s pathos. This type of musicianship is one of the reasons as to why Superstition became such a radio success, the song is the type of song that people would want to listen to in order to motivate them. Therefore, due to his excellent use of the “hook approach” and his expert musicianship, Stevie attracts new listeners easily which in turn causes them to listen to the lyrics of the song, which was his main intention in writing Superstition.

Additionally, Stevie uses logos, or the ability to appeal to people logically, in order to explain the illogical nature of superstitions with the intention of persuading the listener to lose their irrational belief in those superstitions. Stevie Wonder uses allusions to popular superstitions within society in order to reference the idea of them. Additionally, he then exaggerates those superstitions in order to show their flaws. For example, Stevie uses the lyrics “Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin’ glass, seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past” to reference superstitions such as the number 13 and breaking a glass, which are both signs of bad luck in modern Western society. Stevie used these specific superstitions because they were referenced heavily in pop culture such as in movies or TV shows such as Friday the 13^th.  Therefore, Stevie Wonder used logos to relate to the listener by referencing popular superstitions in society, with the aim of gaining the attention of the listener in the process and potentially make a connection with the listener. Through this connection that Stevie builds he attempts to explain that superstitions are negative in society using lyrics such as “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer, superstition ain’t the way”. The main message of Superstition is that Stevie firmly believes that superstitions are an unnecessary stress for those in society. By referencing those superstitions and actually delving into what makes them superstitions it seems illogical that there could be any sense of negative impact from those occurrences. As another example, Stevie sings in the first verse of the song “Very superstitious, ladder’s bout to fall” which references the superstition that walking under a ladder will cause bad luck. It is obvious that there is no possible way that walking under a ladder can give you bad luck, there is no logical way that could be proven. Therefore, Stevie is attempting to get his listeners to think about the illogical nature of superstitions and that they are an unnecessary stress to the listener’s daily life. Therefore, using the lyrics he crafted in Superstition, Stevie Wonder’s goal with the song is to convince the average listener to disregard superstitions entirely.

Using ethos, or the ability to relate to a person due to credibility, Stevie Wonder is able to discredit the concept of luck and superstitions using his past life experiences. Due to the fact that Stevie Wonder was blind at birth, he came into this world somewhat unlucky. He became blind at birth due to a premature birth, being born approximately 6 weeks earlier than he was expected to be due. Additionally, he was given too much oxygen in an incubator which resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a disorder of the eye that caused his blindness.[2] This type of disorder would be seen by many as a sign of “bad luck”, as if the world had malicious intentions for Stevie as soon as he was born. However, by stating with Superstition that he doesn’t believe in luck, he is indirectly disregarding the disorder he was born with as “bad luck”. Therefore, this gives Stevie credibility in a sense, stating that despite his unfortunate circumstances he was able to still find success, showing that “luck” should not be a factor in every day life. Due to this credibility, Stevie has the position to be able to disregard the concept of superstition and luck.

Superstitions are subconsciously engrained in our minds as the legacy of superstitions has been passed down through generations. It is a concept that is casually referenced throughout our lives yet has no real reason for existing. Stevie Wonder with Superstition aimed to rid the world of such unnecessary flaws.  Using his prolific artistry, both musically and lyrically, Stevie Wonder is able to make an instant connection with anyone who listens to his work, and is able to relate his work with the ethos, pathos, and logos of the listener. Superstition is used by Stevie Wonder to project his feelings on superstitions and aims to persuade those who listen.

[1] https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2010/07/15/superstition-a-songs-hook-as-a-summary/

[2] https://www.biography.com/people/stevie-wonder-9536078

For the text that I have chosen to analyze, which is Superstition by Stevie Wonder, which was released in 1972. This song was released onto his album “Talking Book” which came out a full 10 years after the release of his first album “The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie” in 1962. “Talking Book” was seen as his “ticket to stardom” reaching number 3 in the USA charts when the album was released. The main hit single, Superstition, reached number 1 on the USA charts and number 11 on the UK charts. It was also argued that this song was the reason that “Talking Book” gained so much commercial success. Stevie Wonder appeals to the listener’s “pathos” through the use of backing tracks and the music itself. Stevie Wonder used a “hook approach” to writing a song which is having the same riff loop over and over again throughout the entire song as a motif for the song. Along with the fact that Stevie Wonder using a melody that played really well with this main riff, Stevie created a catchy song that appealed to people’s pathos using an upbeat riff and melody, making people happier and in an overall more energetic mood. However, the song appeals to people’s logos through the use of the lyrics of the song. The song talks heavily about the concept of superstition in society, discussing the common superstitions in society such as walking under a ladder or the number 13. Through mentioning these aspects he tries to show to ignorant and unintelligent such superstitions are, showing how people “believe in things that they don’t understand”. Therefore, through these lyrics Stevie Wonder wants people to realize that these superstitions have no background and no basis to stand upon which he hopes will change the concept of superstition in society, making it less of an issue for the common person. Therefore, through this song Stevie Wonder appeals to people through both the music and the lyrics he wrote which is the sign of a well produced piece of music.

The concept of “exigency” is an important concern surrounding text whether it be a photo, video, song, etc. Exigency is officially defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “ that which is required in a particular situation”. In reference to a text this term is used to describe the reason behind why the writer or artist would produce the text. Whether it be due to misogyny or corruption or even personal problems that the writer has dealt with, every text has a reason behind why the text was produced and exigency is a term used to show that a text is written with a certain mindset, with a specific goal in mind. The main text I plan on observing is the song Superstition written by artist Stevie Wonder. The “exigency” behind why I chose to observe this text is, besides the fact that I personally love Stevie Wonder and really enjoy his style of music, is that lyrically within this song he tries to show an important message about the concept of superstition within society. The concept of superstition surrounds many people on a nearly daily basis. For example, Stevie talks in the song about the concept of “walking under a ladder” which by many is seen as a sign of bad luck. In Stevie’s eyes, this concept is rather ignorant and idiotic, because there is no possible way that walking under a ladder could give you bad luck. Therefore, with his song Stevie is trying to show that superstition within society is an ignorant concept and that it should not be worry for anybody. Therefore, due to its message it is important to break down this text and observe it in order to understand Stevie’s mindset on the concept of superstition and understand the message that he is trying to portray regarding the concept of superstition, which is a subconscious element of society that is important yet oddly ignored. Additionally, it is important for this song to be observed because the elements of the song, such as the instrumentation and chord progression, are important to understand in terms of music theory as well as the popularity of this song when it was released. Stevie Wonder revolutionized the funk genre which will make it important to understand the techniques he used to produce this song and understand its importance to funk and music in general. Therefore, it is evident that both lyrically and musically it is important to analyze this song and understand why Stevie wrote the song and how Stevie made the song as well produced as it is. Attached to this post is the song if you would like to listen to it.

Welcome to my first blog post! My name is Michael Mackay and I am currently a Computer Science and Applied Math major. I am from Commack, New York, a town located on Long Island which is approximately 35-40 minutes away from campus. One of my main interests is music, both performing and listening. I have been playing music for about 9 years now starting off with the piano when I was in 4th grade. Since then I have picked up a variety of other instruments as well such as the violin, guitar, bass, and vocals. Due to this I enjoy other music related activities as well such as musical theatre, which I intend to continue at Stony Brook. In terms of the genres of music I enjoy listening to I don’t necessarily have a favorite type of music, every genre has their benefits and weaknesses. However, for performance I usually tend to perform jazz or rock and the genre of music I listen to the most is probably alternative rock. Another main interest of mine is video games, specifically competitive video games. I enjoy a lot of games where there is some sort of competition involved, it makes the game much more thrilling and enjoyable for me. While I have not had much success in most games my most notable achievement in competitive video games is being ranked 79th in the world for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for my score on the hardest song in the game, Through the Fire and Flames. Regardless, gaming is a large hobby of mine and is the most common activity that I do during my free time. Other than those hobbies, my main career goal is a job in Computer Science, specifically as a Software Developer. Coding has interested me ever since I entered into high school and my classes in high school ultimately caused me to develop an interest in Computer Science as a possible career choice. I personally enjoy the problems you can solve with Computer Science and the possibilities of the field in the future, which makes a career path in Computer Science really desirable for me. Through all of these interests I have met many people and had many amazing experiences and I aim to continue these interests while I am at Stony Brook. Through these interests, I hope I continue to meet many more people and have many more amazing experiences.