This Is Their Jam: Playlists for 10 Iconic Fictional Characters
Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s Cather in the Rye: Listen here.
Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”
I am almost sure Christopher Owens is the closest living being we have to Holden Caulfield. There’s a shared sadness in just about everything they do, a crushing expectation for the world to adhere to their standards, an obsession with beauty and authenticity. And there’s this, Holden’s entire 16 years whittled into one of Owens’ painfully pretty songs. (“I’m all alone with my deep thoughts/I’m all alone with my heartache and my good intentions” is just the start of it.)
Girls – “The Oh So Protective One”
“What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going, I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.”
Girls – “Vomit”
This is the song Holden would listen to on his iPod while wandering around Central Park, feeling all the feelings.
Titus Andronicus – “My Time Outside the Womb”
I suppose Patrick Stickles is the second-closest living being we have to Holden, especially Angsty Holden.
LCD Soundsystem – “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down”
Thanks to your billionaire mayor (now convinced he’s a king) and all your goddamn phonies.
– LB