Inspirational?

Rammstein –Amour

The melody starts off calmly just like the calm town in A & P written by John Updike. When the singer gets to the electric guitar starts playing, it sounds like a disturbance – the three girls that walk in the store. Near the end of the song, the singer shouts out “Bitte, bitte gibt mir Gift” which in German means “please, please give me poison. That represents Sammy’s boredom and exasperation with life.

Beethoven – 5thSymphony

In Just Kids by Patti Smith, Robert dies on page 277. Patti describes her feeling by saying: “I was overwhelmed by a sense of excitement, acceleration, as if, because of the closeness I experienced with Robert, I was to be privy to his new adventure, the miracle of his death”. Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony starts off with a brusque set of notes, but then goes on in an adventure-like mood, which corresponds to the feeling of Patti after finding out Robert died.

Manu Chao – MeGustas Tu

When Patti goes to Paris, Robert still shares his life with her by sending her letters “describing his work, his health, his trials, and always his love” (83). “Me Gustas Tu” (I like you) is repeated abundantly in the song, and so is Robert’s love in Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids.

Gorillaz – ClintEastwood

In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, Arnold Friend is very well represented by this song. He is the “holder of the future”. He has “Sunshine in a bag” freedom that he wants to give to Connie is she drive away with him. The song says “the future is coming on” and that represents the “vast […] land that Connie was going to”.

Mulan – I’llmake a Man out Of You (Disney)

Theodore Roosevelt’s text about how boys should act is very similar to the situation described in this song. In fact, both the song and Roosevelt are about transforming people into real men. Despite the differences in characters, I had this song in my head while reading Roosevelt’s theories.

Les Misérables –Look down

This song reveals great desperation and powerlessness towards the future. That is reflected by the words “you’re here until you die”. A similar powerlessness is shown in the text by Simone de Beauvoir. In fact, by the end of the text, she says “I didn’t believe in any of them to be able to face the future with confidence”. Both the song and the text look back at the past with melancholy as Simone writes “Already I was mourning for my past”.

Kansas – Dust inthe Wind

The melancholic tone of the song reminds me of the text At the Café Lovely. Both the song and the excerpt show a glimpse at one’s life. Both point out the shortness of life when one looks back at it. Despite our life being “Dust in the wind”, we ought to enjoy it. Rattawut Lapcharoensap says in his text “Nothing seemed lovelier to me than that hot wind howling in my ears”.

Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy

In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Arnold Friend appears to be a laid-back type of person. His assurance and calmness go hand in hand. He even goes so far as to reassure Connie that nothing bad is going to happen. In some way, he is telling her – “Don’t worry, be happy”.

Igorrr –Vegetable Soup

The “melody” of this “song” is a reference to how hard Pattie’s art is to comprehend. Every time she quotes her poems or her art, I immediately think of the breakcore music genre, which has a hidden meaning. When listening to breakcore, it is not about what, it is about the general feeling, and I believe Pattie’s art is exactly that. Both artists don’t seem to like melody and rhyme.

Sting –Englishman in New York

In A&P Sammy doesn’t want to conform. In fact, while analyzing the people around him, he realizes he is a person of another caliber. The song Englishman in New York depicts the feelings of an Englishman, whose habits are very different from New York’s society. Nevertheless, both Sammy and the Englishman venture into this new environment keeping, despite their difficulties, their choice in life.