Magnuson Josh February 22, 2004
Catcher Musical
I, Josh Magnuson, was recently selected to help pick the perfect piece of music to be used in the soon-to-be blockbuster hit movie The Catcher in the Rye. I was selected because even though we have hired a "wonderful" music director, he couldn't quite finish the job. Now though, I have found the perfect song that manages to sum up the whole book in its entirety. This song is "Here I Go Again" by the best power-ballad band of all time; Whitesnake! The first example straight out of the book is almost all of Holden's experiences, adventures (if you could call them that) and what he does basically throughout the whole book. This can be summed up in the beginning lines of the song "I don't know where I'm going But, I sure know where I've been" Holden never really plans ahead. He knows what his next move will be but he doesn't know much more than that. The next example is "An' here I go again on my own Goin' down the only road I've ever known" This is the perfect example of Holden's alienation from others, society and even himself. He seems like throughout his whole life, he never really could rely on anyone but himself
and all he has ever known is how to rely on himself. Now though, he is starting to not even know who he really is. It's almost like a midlife crisis except its happening to a 16 year old. "'Cos I know what it means To walk along the lonely street of dreams" As Holden walks around in New York, he is barraged by an extreme sense of nostalgia from his childhood gone bye. He remembers all the things he used to do as a kid and how much fun it was not to have all the responsibilities and pressures that now he bears. Seeing all this and realizing it will never be the same again makes him feel very depressed and lonely. When the song states "Like a drifter I was born to walk alone" It tells a lot about how Holden feels about himself. The line is more appropriate how it was originally written "Like a hobo I was born to walk alone" In 1987 the lyric hobo was changed to drifter because the bands management thought the word "hobo" would be confused with the word "homo". The change was made in good faith to keep the band out of trouble. In many parts of the book, Holden is like a hobo. He gets drunk often, then stumbles around outside like a hobo. It is even more obvious when he starts talking to Allie while he's walking down the street during his nervous breakdown after his experience with Mr. Antonelli. The last example is "I'm just another heart in need of rescue,
Waiting on love's sweet charity" This is very apparent in all of Holden's relationships with women. No matter how hard he tries, he can't find love with any girl he meets. One of the girls he goes on a date with he can't even stand, but he takes her because she looks good. He gets nervous with a prostitute and decides to pay her to not have sex with him. The one girl he truly loves doesn't love him and hangs out with guys who try to give her the time in the backseat of their coach's car. Well, that should just about settle it. "Here I Go Again" is definitely the best song to use for this movie. Not only will everyone in the theater better relate with Holden, they will relate better with the movie because everyone likes a sing-a-long. I'm going to have to fire that music director.