New York, I love you but you are bringing me down...

Ok, clearly Holden wasn’t in love with New York City as we can see in the following quote:

      “Well, I hate it. Boy, do I hate it," I said. "But it isn't just that. It's everything. I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, and Madison Avenue buses, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out at the rear door, and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside, and guys fitting your pants all the time at Brooks, and people always--" (Salinger 1951, p. 145)  

But still, is the first place that he considers after getting the ax from Elton Hills. Why? He used to lived there before going Pencey’s , and since his parents wouldn’t figure out that he was expelled till Tuesday or Wednesday, he decides to go to a cheap hotel for a little vacation there and calm his nerves.

Throughout the events that follow Holden’s journey in New York, we can see his constant search for authenticity in a place that seems to be full with phonies.

 As soon as I get to the part in the book in which Holden starts describing how messed up was the city, starting with the cabs and their drivers, the different places where he stayed-  like the cheap Hotel, the Lavender Room (which was a night club in the very same hotel) , Ernie’s – and the people who were in those places, I couldn’t stop singing in my head the song “New York, I love you, but you are bringing me down”  by LCD Soundsystem. Whether you like the song or not, you can definitely tell that somehow it relates with what Holden is trying to tell us about society, specifically, New York society, and how depress he feels for what is surrounding him.

~ Context~ 

“New York, I love you but you are bringing me down” was wrote in 2007 by the group LCD Soundsystem and it was part of their third record, “Sound of Silver”. In the song, Murphy, the leader of the group, starts explaining his love-hate relationship with the city where he grew up. 

“New York, I love you but you're bringing me down
New York, I love you but you're bringing me down
Like a rat in a cage
Pulling minimum wage
New York, I love you but you're bringing me down

He mentions how hard is to live nowadays in New York, comparing it to be living "like a rat in a cage" who pulls "minimum wage" to survive in a city where the cost of living seems be increasing every year. Ok, maybe so far you can't actually make the connection, but stay with me, I swear I'm going somewhere.  

New York, you're safer and you're wasting my time
Our records all show you were filthy but fine
But they shuttered your stores
When you opened the doors

Murphy is telling us how much New York has changed in the past years and  lost the essence he once knew, a sort of nostalgic vision about the dangerous city where he grew up. 

To the cops who were bored once they'd run out of crime
...

New York, you're perfect, oh, please don't change a thing

In this part of the song, Murphy is playing with the idea of the perfect New York, the one we see in movies, the big apple, a city full of opportunities, a place to go every weekend, or for a perfect date. In the book, New York is the place Standler first thought of taking Jane for their date-which freaks Holden out- but, in the song Murphy is being sarcastic, he feels like he knows New York better than anyone, - is that you, Holden?- he know exactly that this city is way too far from perfection.     

Your mild billionaire mayor's now convinced he's a king
So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect
In the neighborhood bars I'd once dreamt I would drink
…..

Murphy is talking about how the current laws in New York have close different places who once were hot spots for people to hear musical performances. Maybe places like Wicker Bar or Enie's that suddenly couldn't afford the increase of rents

New York, I love you but you're freaking me out

I believe this pretty much explains how Holden felt about the city where he once grew up. Like when he was beaten by the guy of the elevator at the hotel, or when he constantly felt surrounded by phonies no matter where he went, including the situation with one if his favorite teachers, when all of a sudden he woke up and found him petting or patting him on his head. All these situations took Holden by surprise in a quite unpleasant way.    

There's a ton of the twist but we're fresh out of shout
Like a death in the hall
That you hear through your wall
New York, I love you but you're freaking me out

New York, I love you but you're bringing me down
New York, I love you but you're bringing me down
Like a death of the heart
Jesus, where do I start?

This is one of the many expressions that make me relate the song with Catcher in the Rye, and not just because Holden really likes Jesus, but because in this part of the song Murphy is trying to tell us that even though he loves New York, he can’t stand what people have made to this city, pretty much like Holden during the book . 

But you're still the one pool where I'd happily drown

After some research on internet, I found that this was part of the song is a reference to The Great Gatsby, ( a book that is also mention in The Catcher in the Rye)  specifically –spoiler alert- the part when Gatsby dies in his pool (which is also seen as symbol of the death of the "American Dream") . Do you start to see the connection between the song and the book? If not, wait till the next part of the song....

And oh! Take me off your mailing list
For kids that think it still exists
Yes, for those who think it still exists
Maybe I'm wrong and maybe you're right
Maybe I'm wrong and maybe you're right
Maybe you're right, maybe I'm wrong
And just maybe you're right

Remember that part of the book when Holden starts describing the museum and how no matter how many times you were there it would never change? That “nobody’d be different, the only different would be you”. This is pretty much what Murphy is trying to tell us in this part of the song, that maybe New York hasn’t changed at all, that maybe what is different now is HIS perspective of New York. 

And oh! Maybe mother told you true
And there'll always be somebody there for you
And you'll never be alone
But maybe she's wrong and maybe I'm right
And just maybe she's wrong
Maybe she's wrong and maybe I'm right

So finally, why don't you listen to the song again and tell me what do you think about? Can you actually relate the song with the book?
Oh! and yes, the official video is starring by Kermit the frog, so... enjoy it again! 

    

And if so, here's this song!

References

http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858643688/

http://genius.com/Lcd-soundsystem-new-york-i-love-you-but-youre-bringing-me-down-lyrics