1920s Play list

I found this blog topic very interesting because I love this kind of music. The music of this era was very carefree, happy -go- lucky, and upbeat.

1) "Toot Toot Tootsie" - Al Jolson This song reminds me of how hard it was for Gatsby to say goodbye to Daisy as he left for the Great War. The song tells of a man who gets on his train at least seven times before getting of to kiss his sweetheart. Daisy may not have been at the trainstation to see Gatsby off, but I bet Gatsby sure felt like getting off that train and going back to Daisy.

2) "Rhapsody in Blue" - George Gershwin One of my all time favorite composers in George Gershwin. This song kind of tells the life of Gatsby almost. At the beginning the song is somewhat downtrodden here and there a little bit of excitment. That is when Gatsby was growing up. In the middle of the song, it goes off into this jazz melody and is upbeat and hectic. This reminds me of Gatsby meeting Daisy and going of to war. After that there's a hesitant part where I think Gatsby has realized he has lost Daisy and is very sad and somewhat "Blue". Then Gatsby decides he will get back Daisy. This is told by the music becoming very resolute and somber. Then the music gets crazy and hectic again. This would be Gatsby's great parties and chasing after Daisy. At the end of the song there is a big buildup and then the song ends. The buildup is when Daisy drives the car, kills Myrtle, Tom lying to Mr. Wilson, and then finally at the end, Mr. Wilson kills Gatsby.

3) "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" - Al Jolson This song describes the senitments of the younger people in the Roaring Twenties. It says live, love, laugh, and be happy and throw your cares away. This is shown in "The Great Gatsby" in several instances. One would be when Myrtle and Tom bought a dog on the street but then didn't think of how they were going to care for it when they were not at the apartment. Another instance would be the parties at Gatsby's house. The people there didn't care how late they stayed or the consequences of partying all the time like that would be. They lived in the moment and didn't have a care in the world. My favorite word to describe this would "Happy-go-lucky."

4) "Puttin' on the Ritz" - Irving Berlin  This song tells of the mentality of the 1920s. The song tells people to dress up and spend all their money on clothes so they can brush shoulders with the elite. People in the 1920s wanted to become famous and rich. This is what Gatsby, Nick, Myrtle, and Daisy did. They tried to become part of the elite class by varying methods. Gatsby inherited the money, Nick went to work for his money, Myrtle became Tom's lover, and Daisy married into money. But having money won't always mean you're one of the elite. The actual people of the 1920s tried to become elite like the characters in "The Great Gatsby" but they were only playing parts.