A Playlist for Boy21 by 516

by 516



A Playlist for Boy 21


The first song in my playlist is “Outsiders” by The Daylights. This song matches the introductory scene in the book Boy 21, by Matthew Quick. It portrays Finley’s cynical thoughts about being the only white player on his varsity basketball team. He explains how people call him “White Rabbit” because in his English class, they had to read a very sad book by John Updike. It was about a long-ago white basketball star named Rabbit that grew up and lived a miserable life. This song is similar because it’s about how the singer hates being different compared to the rest of the world and feeling detached. The song quotes, “Right here, above the street, watching the city span beneath. I couldn’t help but feel like an outsider.”





The next song in my playlist is “Rabbit Run” by Eminem. I chose this song because the setting in the movie, “8 Mile” is very similar to the setting in the book. Finley explains how “Belmont’s too complicated for me to explain in a sentence. “The drugs, violence, racial tension, the Irish mob-…” These are his thoughts when trying to keep Russ in his place because he doesn’t understand how acting extra-terrestrial can be dangerous. The lyrics in the song expresses past frustrations in being stuck in Detroit, having to move into his alcoholic mother’s trailer and all of the drugs, violence and racial tension that is the reality of living in poverty.


The third song in my playlist is “All Star” by Smash Mouth. This matches the scene where Russ outruns, out shoots, out jumps and out dribbles everyone on the court. For the first time, he plays to his full ability instead of masking it, as he usually does. He is later peppered with questions because he explained that his skills were due to extra-terrestrial powers. This scene is simply enthralling and exciting, and the beats of the song are as well. Also, “Hey now you’re an all-star get your game on, go play.” is a great example of what happens during this scene.





The next song in this playlist is “I’m So Tired” by The Beatles. The tone captures how numb, depressed, hollow and blurry the singer feels. After Erin ignores Finley while she’s in the hospital, his world falls apart. He explains how “Life isn’t vivid; time is blurry, distorted, stretched out and balled up.” He ruminates over the fact that his girlfriend hasn’t contacted him, which is the same reason the singer is feeling hopeless.





My fifth song in my playlist is “Across the Universe” by The Beatles. The song is about how the world is confusing, and how bad is mixed with good. Up is down and down is up. The song quotes, “Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind.” It matches the scene on page 240 when Finley gets Erin’s letter. This is because the letter contains both good news (new) and bad news (old.) This affects Finley’s ability to make a decision right away whether or not to do what he is asked. The tone of the song also matches his hesitance, because it is apathetic and gradual.





The sixth song on my playlist is “Rumor has it” by Adele. In the book, Finley has been told, by his coach, that Russ is extremely good at basketball, but Finley has yet to see him show off his skills. The coach isn’t exactly hesitant to play up the hype to the fullest and the lyrics of this song express how, before the first practice, the whole team wonders if he has supreme skill or not. Also, this song is upbeat which captures Finley’s adrenaline-filled mood that comes before a practice.





The seventh song in my playlist is “Coming Home” by Skylar Grey. The lyrics express a new beginning. Finley’s pop gives him a ticket to New Hampshire and tells him that it’s “a chance to get out of here and start fresh, free and clear of your family history.” This is perfectly displayed when the song quotes “Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday.” He is also metaphorically going home because that’s where his girlfriend Erin was forced to move due to the witness protection program. Also, the tone of the song is tender and slow but empowered.





The last song in my playlist is “21 Guns” by Green Day. This song matches the scene in the book when Finley first goes to the emergency room. This is because he is asked if he is alright, and he responds to this by puking for the third time that night and glancing up at his teammates when he is finished. He doesn’t know how he is. This song conveys exactly this when it quotes, “When you’re at the end of the road, and you’ve lost all sense of control, and your thoughts have taken their toll. Your faith walks on broken glass, you’re in ruins.” The lyrics display defeat, the punk influences in this song make it passionate. At the same time though, the tone sounds a bit melancholic because of the repetitive melodic phrasing.