A Pilgrim’s Digression

I added a couple new tracks to the American Psycho playlist, Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Huey Lewis’s “Hip to Be Square.” The latter song was used in the film and was originally on the soundtrack, but when Lewis saw how it was used, he pulled the song.

In the book, Bateman hums “Hip to Be Square” in the chapter “Killing Dog,” after he stabs to death “the old queer” and his Shar-pei. The description of the dog licking its own entrails while in its death throes is pretty gruesome.

One other thing of note: in the chapter “A Glimpse of a Thursday Afternoon,” Bateman says his favorite album is Bruce Willis’s “The Return of Bruno.” Yes, Bruce Willis the actor. I had forgotten how many of these actors churned out bad albums in the eighties, Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis, probably many others. Anyway, point is that it again exemplifies Bateman’s abominable taste in music, as Kaysea’s husband pointed out in the comments to the playlist blog.

Amazon sells the actual soundtrack to the film, which doesn’t look half bad. I’d buy it just for the David Bowie remix of “Something in the Air.” However, it’s unbelievable that the movie soundtrack doesn’t have a single song by Phil Collins or Genesis, considering Bateman gives one of his oracular, academic monologues on the music of Collins and Genesis. Maybe Collins would not agree to allow the music to be used. I can understand why. I feel odd reading this novel on the train, as if people who see me reading it must be thinking I’m some kind of psycho myself.

Incidentally, when I got off the train last night, the street performer who has been singing for money outside Takoma Metro was singing “Somewhere” from West Side Story. What an incredible coincidence.