What We're Listening to: The Gatsby Playlist
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan- The House Is Rockin’- Stevie Ray Vaughan’s The House Is Rockin’ was chosen to kick off this playlist because it represents one of the most important aspects of 1920’s, its party atmosphere. Alcohol, although made illegal in 1919, flowed freely, the good life was the only one that people wanted to live and therefore extravagances were everywhere, and the people of the era yearned to have the freedom they were denied by their parents and the government. All of these variables came together and created what we know today as The Jazz Age.
2. Pink Floyd- Money- This song illustrates the darker side of the 1920’s mindset: The lust for control, power, and money. In the novel, no character represents this aspect of the twenties better than Tom Buchanan. He spends money like it will never run out, treats others as though they are under him, and takes what he wants when he wants it. Also, Myrtle Wilson demonstrates the other side of the road. She is intent upon getting rich by any means necessary, which ends up being sleeping with Tom.
3. The Who- Going Mobile- This song, sung on the band’s most successful record, Who’s Next, by Pete Townsend, represents the migration of people in the time period to major cities, as well as the movement of characters in the novel from the Midwest to the East.
4. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- Born To Run- This song, off the Boss’s album of the same title, has been included in this playlist to represent one of the central characters in The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway. It talks about a man going out looking for the American dream like Nick leaving his home and going East.
5. Neil Young- Old Man- Old Man, written for the caretaker of his ranch by one of my favorite musicians of all time, Neil Young, was also apparently written about the Jay Gatsby we are first introduced to in the novel. He is a young, successful, and very wealthy man living “alone in a paradise that makes me think of two.”
6. The Beach Boys-Wouldn’t It Be Nice- This song has been included in this playlist to detail the first event of a series of events in the novel. This song talks about how two lovers, although very much in love, are too young to really dive into their relationship, like Gatsby and Daisy when they fell in love five years earlier.
7. Styx- The Grand Illusion- This song represents the mystery that surrounds Gatsby which has been created by the patrons of his parties. They are all unsure of his history, work, education, and army record so instead of asking, create fantastic stories about him which are all combined into different rumors. This illusion is also like the illusion of Daisy Gatsby has built up in his head after being away from her for five years. Both of these illusions, after being destroyed, are proven to be much more satisfying than the truth.
8. Jack Johnson- Sitting, Waiting, Wishing- This song illustrates Gatsby sitting and waiting on his dock staring at the green light at the end of Daisy’s wishing he had her again.
9. Foo Fighters- The Deepest Blues are Black- This song is a play on the color blue, representing dreams in the novel, because as the characters’ dreams were realized they seemed to lose their surreal qualities, leaving the characters wanting. The most obvious example of this being Gatsby’s realization that the Daisy he had invented in his head did not compare with the real thing.
10. The Eagles- Lyin’ Eyes- This song is a very good representation of many aspects of the novel because eyes symbolize so much in the story. The part of the novel that I chose for this song to represent is Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship along with Tom and Myrtle’s relationship. In the song the man knows that his wife is cheating on him and lying when she says she is going to visit a friend. This is like when Tom says that he is going into the city to work when he is actually going to see his lover. It is also representative of Daisy and Gatsby because after they all get together at the Buchanan’s house, Tom realizes that she is actually in love with him.
11. Barenaked Ladies- It’s All Been Done- It’s All Been Done is a song about a boy meeting a girl and she after they are separated moves on while he stays in love with her, believing they will be together again. This is exactly like Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. The one difference is that Daisy, for a short period of time, did fall back in love with Gatsby only when given the choice decides to remain with Tom.
12. Pearl Jam- Once- “Backseat lover on the side of the road, I got a bomb in my temple that is gonna explode, I got a sixteen gauge buried under my clothes, I pray... Once upon a time I could CONTROL myself…” This is part of the first verse in Pearl Jam’s Once. The person in this song is exactly like Mr. Wilson after Myrtle’s death. He goes insane with heartache, grief, and rage and sets out to find and kill the person who killed his wife. In the end he kills Gatsby in his pool and subsequently kills himself to complete “the holocaust.”
13. The Rolling Stones- Waiting On A Friend- This song, written by another two of my favorite musicians of all time, talks about how a man is “standing in a doorway…trying to make some sense” like Nick Carraway after Gatsby’s death. It also talks about how the man is waiting on a friend like Nick waiting for people to come to Gatsby’s funeral. He is sorely disappointed, however; when out of all the attendees of Gatsby’s parties, only “owl eyes” comes to the burial.
14. Bob Dylan- The Times They Are A-Changin’- This song, written to warn about the end of the sixties and the change it would bring, is also applicable to the end of the Jazz Age. When the 1920’s ended the stock market crashed and the Great Depression ensued lasting until World War II, and caused a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the extravagance of the twenties.
15. Aerosmith- Dream On- This and the next song were chosen to conclude this playlist because they are representative of the last page of the novel, described as “the best literary paragraphs ever” by Mrs. Perlman, and narrated by Nick Carraway. These final paragraphs are Fitzgerald’s message to the reader which can be summed up as dream on. The song Dream On is saying that we have to follow our dreams and live the way we want to, not the way others tell us we have to. Come Sail Away, other than being a perfect fit with the final line of the book (“so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”), has the same overall theme of going out and reaching your goals, hopes, and dreams.
16. Styx- Come Sail Away
2. Pink Floyd- Money- This song illustrates the darker side of the 1920’s mindset: The lust for control, power, and money. In the novel, no character represents this aspect of the twenties better than Tom Buchanan. He spends money like it will never run out, treats others as though they are under him, and takes what he wants when he wants it. Also, Myrtle Wilson demonstrates the other side of the road. She is intent upon getting rich by any means necessary, which ends up being sleeping with Tom.
3. The Who- Going Mobile- This song, sung on the band’s most successful record, Who’s Next, by Pete Townsend, represents the migration of people in the time period to major cities, as well as the movement of characters in the novel from the Midwest to the East.
4. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- Born To Run- This song, off the Boss’s album of the same title, has been included in this playlist to represent one of the central characters in The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway. It talks about a man going out looking for the American dream like Nick leaving his home and going East.
5. Neil Young- Old Man- Old Man, written for the caretaker of his ranch by one of my favorite musicians of all time, Neil Young, was also apparently written about the Jay Gatsby we are first introduced to in the novel. He is a young, successful, and very wealthy man living “alone in a paradise that makes me think of two.”
6. The Beach Boys-Wouldn’t It Be Nice- This song has been included in this playlist to detail the first event of a series of events in the novel. This song talks about how two lovers, although very much in love, are too young to really dive into their relationship, like Gatsby and Daisy when they fell in love five years earlier.
7. Styx- The Grand Illusion- This song represents the mystery that surrounds Gatsby which has been created by the patrons of his parties. They are all unsure of his history, work, education, and army record so instead of asking, create fantastic stories about him which are all combined into different rumors. This illusion is also like the illusion of Daisy Gatsby has built up in his head after being away from her for five years. Both of these illusions, after being destroyed, are proven to be much more satisfying than the truth.
8. Jack Johnson- Sitting, Waiting, Wishing- This song illustrates Gatsby sitting and waiting on his dock staring at the green light at the end of Daisy’s wishing he had her again.
9. Foo Fighters- The Deepest Blues are Black- This song is a play on the color blue, representing dreams in the novel, because as the characters’ dreams were realized they seemed to lose their surreal qualities, leaving the characters wanting. The most obvious example of this being Gatsby’s realization that the Daisy he had invented in his head did not compare with the real thing.
10. The Eagles- Lyin’ Eyes- This song is a very good representation of many aspects of the novel because eyes symbolize so much in the story. The part of the novel that I chose for this song to represent is Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship along with Tom and Myrtle’s relationship. In the song the man knows that his wife is cheating on him and lying when she says she is going to visit a friend. This is like when Tom says that he is going into the city to work when he is actually going to see his lover. It is also representative of Daisy and Gatsby because after they all get together at the Buchanan’s house, Tom realizes that she is actually in love with him.
11. Barenaked Ladies- It’s All Been Done- It’s All Been Done is a song about a boy meeting a girl and she after they are separated moves on while he stays in love with her, believing they will be together again. This is exactly like Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. The one difference is that Daisy, for a short period of time, did fall back in love with Gatsby only when given the choice decides to remain with Tom.
12. Pearl Jam- Once- “Backseat lover on the side of the road, I got a bomb in my temple that is gonna explode, I got a sixteen gauge buried under my clothes, I pray... Once upon a time I could CONTROL myself…” This is part of the first verse in Pearl Jam’s Once. The person in this song is exactly like Mr. Wilson after Myrtle’s death. He goes insane with heartache, grief, and rage and sets out to find and kill the person who killed his wife. In the end he kills Gatsby in his pool and subsequently kills himself to complete “the holocaust.”
13. The Rolling Stones- Waiting On A Friend- This song, written by another two of my favorite musicians of all time, talks about how a man is “standing in a doorway…trying to make some sense” like Nick Carraway after Gatsby’s death. It also talks about how the man is waiting on a friend like Nick waiting for people to come to Gatsby’s funeral. He is sorely disappointed, however; when out of all the attendees of Gatsby’s parties, only “owl eyes” comes to the burial.
14. Bob Dylan- The Times They Are A-Changin’- This song, written to warn about the end of the sixties and the change it would bring, is also applicable to the end of the Jazz Age. When the 1920’s ended the stock market crashed and the Great Depression ensued lasting until World War II, and caused a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the extravagance of the twenties.
15. Aerosmith- Dream On- This and the next song were chosen to conclude this playlist because they are representative of the last page of the novel, described as “the best literary paragraphs ever” by Mrs. Perlman, and narrated by Nick Carraway. These final paragraphs are Fitzgerald’s message to the reader which can be summed up as dream on. The song Dream On is saying that we have to follow our dreams and live the way we want to, not the way others tell us we have to. Come Sail Away, other than being a perfect fit with the final line of the book (“so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”), has the same overall theme of going out and reaching your goals, hopes, and dreams.
16. Styx- Come Sail Away
Reflection/Reference
As a guy who is interested in all types of music, I really enjoyed creating this playlist. To find the music for this list I went through my library a few times picking songs that I felt related to The Great Gatsby in some way. Over two days I found music based on titles, lyrics, artists, meanings, and backgrounds of the songs, and then found a part of the novel with which they related.
