Goo Goo Dolls

"Iris"

Throughout the narrative, Holden is constantly shielding himself from other people. He deliberately isolates himself. "I slept in the garage the night he died and I broke all the goddamn windows just for the hell of it" (pg 39). To him, almost all of the relationships he has with people are upsetting, dysfunctional, and painful. The Goo Goo Dolls’ song, "Iris" has to do with Holden’s relationships with people and the way he isolates himself. "And I don’t want the world to see me, cause I don’t think that they’d understand. When everything’s made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am." Nothing seems to work out the right way for Holden. He attempts to ask for help, but it never ends up working. This may be because many people don’t understand him or his morals. Holden communicates, and attempts to let people know who he is by Allie’s baseball glove and writing the essay for Stradlater.

James Taylor

"Fire and Rain"

All of Holden’s problems start when his brother Allie dies. After this tragic event, Holden struggles with life and questions his existence when he thinks about committing suicide. "What I really felt like though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window" (pg 104). Holden couldn’t believe that his little brother was gone. He became depressed and eventually broke down. This can be related to the song "Fire and Rain", by James Taylor. In the song he talks about the death of a person who was really important to him. This can be compared with the song because James Taylor sings, "Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone. Susanne the plans they made put an end to you. I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song. I just can’t remember who to sent it to. I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I always thought that I’d see you again." The person in the song cannot believe that a loved one is gone, just like Holden. In this song, James Taylor also sings, "Been walking my mind to and easy time, my back turned towards the sun…sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground." In the novel, when Holden becomes depressed it is like he is turning his back towards the sun and his life is getting colder. Holden’s "sweet dreams and flying machines," or, his dreams and plans for the future and demolished when Allie dies. He doesn’t think his life can go on.

Guster

"Rainy Day"

Guster’s "Rainy Day" is another song that can be associated with Holden’s shutting out of the world. "I will build a wall, sensing trouble from a mile away. I will build a wall. Saw it coming from a mile away." In the novel, Holden goes to visit his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini, but leaves abruptly when he was put into a situation he could not handle. Instead of trying to talk to Mr. Antolini and figure out what had happened, Holden simply left Mr. Antolini’s house and once again, shut another person out of his world. Mr. Antolini was the only person Holden could rely on, yet Holden made no attempt to resolve the conflict. Instead he said, "No, no kidding. I gotta get going. I really do" (pg 192). This song also relates to other topics in the book, such as Holden’s growing depression. Guster sings, "Sun starts sinking. I can’t see my shadow. It looks like trouble on a rainy day." You can link the sun to Holden’s life. As the sun is sinking in the song, Holden’s depression plummets in the novel.

Guster

"Great Escape"

"How would you like to get the hell out of here?" (pg 132). Holden makes this comment to Sally Hayes in an attempt to get her to run away with him. The song "Great Escape", by Guster, pertains to Holden’s fantasy about running away with Sally. Some of the lyrics are, "Into the car baby bleed the gas, fast as fast, never turning back. Oh yeah, not scared of that, the past has passed and we cannot take it back. They want to know if we could get away. Yeah we backed it up and made our great escape. When the dust will settle and they’ll discover the furthest exodus getting somewhere…" Holden wants to run away and live in a cabin in Vermont with Sally. He’s tired of living in New York and he wants to escape. In his fantasy he wants to marry Sally. He tells her this when he says, "…we could get married or something" (pg 132). The lyrics of the song that relate to this are, "And she wants me, and she needs me, she can have me all the time. And she wants me and she needs me…" He imagines Sally loving him and wanting to marry him also.

Guster

"What You Wish For"

Throughout the novel, Holden keeps getting more and more depressed. EVERYTHING depresses him, even going to the movies. He says, "I can understand somebody going to the movies because there’s nothing else to do, but when somebody really wants to go, and even fast so as to get there quicker, then it depresses hell out of me" (pg 116). If you listen to the song "What You Wish For", by Guster, you will hear the same theme of depression as you read about in the novel. The song is very much like Holden’s depression. The song starts out, "Woke up today to everything gray. And all that I saw just kept going on and on." Everything being "gray" relates to Holden’s depression. As the day goes on, everything keeps getting worse for him. The next verse in the song is, "Sweep all the pieces under the bed. Close all the curtains and cover my head." This relates to how Holden runs away from his problems, rather than facing them and trying to solve them. The "pieces" and the "curtains" are all of Holden’s problems. The chorus of the song is, "And what you wish for won’t come true, you aren’t surprised, love, are you?" In the novel, nothing works out for Holden. Everything he wishes for just won’t come true. He keeps flunking out of school, he is unable to have a normal relationship with anyone, and Jane, his "crush", doesn’t have the same feelings for him as he does for her. Nevertheless, he does not stop thinking about her. Throughout the book her name comes up over and over again. "I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again" (pg 76), "I got her on and I couldn’t get her off" (pg 76), "She was a funny girl, old Jane" (pg 77), "That’s what I was thinking about while I sat there in the vomity-looking chair in the lobby. Old Jane" (pg 80). However, at the end of the song, it goes, "Leave all the secrets under the bed. Open the curtains forget what I said. And what you wish for could come true. You aren’t surprised, love, are you? So what you wish for could come true. You act surprised, love, are you?" At the end of the novel, Holden finally gets help. He "opens the curtains" and finally lets people help him and stops running away from his problems. He realizes that since he is getting help, things will eventually work out for him.

Billy Joel

"Piano Man"

Billy Joel’s, "Piano Man", is perfect in describing Holden’s social life during the few days of the novel. Holden went to many bars in New York before he went home. The song talks about a crowd in a bar on a Saturday night. In the song, John is a parallel to Holden’s brother, D.B. D.B. went to write for Hollywood. Holden doesn’t approve of D.B. going to Hollywood, but D.B. goes anyway because it’s what he really wants to do. In the song, John goes to the bar, "and he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but there’s someplace that he’d rather be." He says to his friend Bill, "Bill, I believe this is killing me, as the smile ran away from his face. Well I’m sure that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place." D.B. has a chance of pursuing his dream, but he must leave New York first. There are other people in the "Piano Man" that Holden would consider phonies, which is a main theme in the novel. Holden hates phonies more than anything in the world, but always happens to come across them. He knows and meets few people who aren’t phonies. In the Piano Man’s bar, there are people who, if Holden met, would definitely consider phonies: "Now Paul is a real estate novelist, who never had time for a wife. And he’s talking with Davy who’s still in the navy, and probably will be for life. And the waitress is practicing politics, as the businessmen slowly get stoned. Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it’s better than drinking alone." Holden would definitely find flaws in all of these people because of their occupations, just like he does in the narrative. However, Holden would probably have joined them at the bar since he was lonely, and, like in the narrative, doesn’t want to drink alone. The people in the song go to the bar "to forget about life for awhile." This is what Holden attempts to do when he drinks in the bars in the novel. "I kept sitting there getting drunk and waiting…" (pg149).

Billy Joel

"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"

Billy Joel’s song, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", relates well to the novel because it is a parallel to Holden’s feelings about D.B. going to Hollywood. It can also be related to Holden’s relationships. Holden considers D.B. somewhat of a phony since he goes to Hollywood, and he wants him to leave. The lyrics that relate to D.B. being a phony are, "Bobby’s driving through the city tonight-Through the lights-In a hot new rent-a-car. He joins the lover in his heavy machine-It’s a scene down on Sunset Boulevard." In the novel, Holden tell us that D.B. did, in fact, get a new car when he says, "He just got a new jaguar" (pg 1). Holden continues to tell the reader that the car was extremely expensive, however, D.B. now makes a lot of "dough" so he can afford the car. The problem with this, though, is that the reason why D.B. makes a lot of money and can afford the car is because he’s writing for Hollywood. Hollywood, according to Holden, is for phonies. "Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me" (pg 2). The chorus of the song is, "Say goodbye to Hollywood, say goodbye my baby. Say goodbye to Hollywood, say goodbye my baby." This simply shows that Holden wanted D.B. to leave Hollywood. The way this song is related to Holden’s relationships are in the lyrics, "Moving on is a chance that you take every time you try to stay together. Say a word out of line and you find that the friends you had are gone-forever…forever. So many faces in and out of my life, some will last, some will just be now and then. Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes-I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again." Holden’s "now and then" relationship is with Sally. He talks to her once in a while. His only lasting relationship is with his sister, Phoebe. She’s the only person he doesn’t consider at all phony, and even though she’s younger than him, he kind of looks up to her. He also loved very few things in life, but, "just chewing the fat and horsing" (pg 172), around with Phoebe, was one of them. Basically, all of the other relationships he has with people are "goodbye" relationships. Holden just can’t seem to maintain relationships with anyone. He regrets this though, and states at the end of the novel, "…I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddamn Maurice. It’s funny. Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody" (pg 214).

Pink

"Don’t Let Me Get Me"

"Don’t Let Me Get Me", by Pink, is a song that relates incredibly well to Holden’s life. The lyrics, "my parents hated me," relate to Holden’s not so great relationship with his parents. He is afraid to go home and tell them about flunking out of school. Before he leaves Pencey he says, "I figured my parents probably wouldn’t get old Thurmer’s letter saying I’d been given the ax till maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. I didn’t want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all. I didn’t want to be around when they first got it" (pg 50). The lyrics, "I was always in a fight cuz I can’t do nothin’ right," relate to Holden’s fight with Stradlater. Holden provokes Stradlater into beating him up. Holden wouldn’t stop offending Stradlater so, "…the next thing I knew, I was on the goddamn floor and he was sitting on my chest, with his face all red" (pg 43). If Holden had just kept his mouth shut, Stradlater wouldn’t have touched him. The most important lyrics in the song are, "Everyday I fight a war against the mirror. I can’t take the person staring back at me. I’m a hazard to myself. Don’t let me get me. I’m my own worst enemy. It’s bad when you annoy yourself. So irritating. Don’t wanna be my friend no more. I wanna be somebody else." Holden really bothers himself sometimes, however, he fails to be able to change his personality. He says that he is, "…the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It awful" (pg 16), yet, a liar classifies as someone phony. Here, Holden is being hypocritical, but does not try to change his ways, such as lying. The song also relates to the "phony" theme in the novel. The lyrics that touch on this theme are, "LA told me, ‘you’ll be a pop star. All you have to change is everything you are.’ Tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears. She’s so pretty, that just ain’t me." Holden is bothered by the fact that people cannot simply be themselves, which is a major characteristic of a phony. You should be able to be yourself and not be compared to other people. The final comparison of the song to the novel is in the lyrics, "Doctor, doctor won’t you please prescribe me something…cuz I’m a hazard to myself." Finally, at the end of the novel, Holden realizes that he wants help, and that’s exactly what he gets. "I’m not going anywhere, I told you. I’m going home" (pg 208).

Pink

"Just Like a Pill"

Holden has a problem dealing with life. Instead of solving his problems, he wants to run away from them. Although he knows he has a problem, he won’t ask for help. The song "Just Like a Pill", by Pink, relates well to this. In the first verse of the song, Pink sings, "I’m lyin’ here on the floor where you left me. I think I took too much. I’m crying here, what have you done. I thought it would be fun. I can’t stay on your life support, there’s shortage in the switch…I haven’t moved from the spot where you left me, this must be a bad trip" Although it is not what Pink is talking about, the "thing" in the song can be said to be Holden’s life. After his brother, Allie, died, his life is at a stand still. Holden doesn’t think it can go on any longer, and in the song, the person cannot get off the floor. She’s stuck on the floor like Holden is stuck in one spot of his life for a while. After this, Pink sings, "I said I tried to call the nurse again, but she’s being a little b*tch…" This relates to the fact that when Holden attempts to ask people for help, they cut him off. For instance, when he meets Carl Luce in the bar he attempts to ask Carl for help when he asks, "You mean to go to a psychoanalyst and all?" (pg 148). But Carl cuts him off and says, "It’s up to you, for God’s sake. It’s none of my goddamn business what you do with you’re life" (pg 148). Holden is writing the narrative from a rest home in California. He finally decided to ask for help when he goes home in the end. The lyrics in the song that relate to this are, "Maybe I should get some help." Before he gets help, however, Holden runs away from his school. The lyrics in the song that relate to this are, "I think I’ll get outta here, where I can run just as fast as I can, to the middle of nowhere. To the middle of my frustrated fears, and I swear, you’re just like a pill, instead of makin’ me better, you keep makin’ me ill." Again, this compares to Holden’s life once Allie dies.

Avril Lavigne

"Complicated"

The reoccurring theme in The Catcher in the Rye, is "phonies". The main reason why Holden can’t seem to have any meaningful relationships with anyone is because he picks people apart, and finds all of these little things that make them a phony. Holden can’t stand to be around phonies, and since almost everyone he meets is phony, he can’t have normal relationships. Avril Lavigne’s, "Complicated", is all about phonies. "I like you the way you are, when we’re driving in my car, and you’re talking to me one and one, but you become somebody else ‘round everyone else. Watchin’ your back, like you can’t relax. You’re tryin’ to be cool. You look like a fool to me. Tell me. Why do you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you’re acting like you’re somebody else, gets me frustrated. Life’s like this, you, and you fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get and you turn it into, honesty, promise me I’m never gonna find you fake it. No, no, no." In the novel, Holden talks about phonies all the time. "You never saw so many phonies in all your life…" (pg 126), "…listening to that phony Andover…" (pg 128), "I keep worrying about whether he’s going to do something phony every minute" (pg 117), "The phonier it got, the more she cried" (pg 139). Holden’s frustration with phoniness prevents him from living his life up to its full potential.