meta cognition of the soundtrack

The first assignment I chose was the soundtrack of the memoir. Throughout the book “Running With Scissors,” by Augusten Burroughs, the author tries to get different messages across to the readers. Some of the messages can also be felt throughout different songs. On the soundtrack I chose many different songs that I believed related the reader to some of his different complications in life.

“Runaway” by Cartel: “Runaway” by Cartel is a pop kind of punk rock type of song and it depicts the life of someone holding a secret from the whole world and about how if they keep holding in all of their secrets they will eventually runaway and forget everything. This song reminded me the most of Augusten, the main character of the story, because throughout the book he shows us different secrets throughout his life that he tries to keep hidden. One of his biggest secrets is the fact that he is gay. He doesn’t wish for people to view him differently so he only tells his close family about his secret. He also has a boy friend who is also a secret. Another reason this song was number one on my sound track is because of another character. Neil Bookman is Augusten’s boyfriend. Neil is also gay and he is love with Augusten. He hides many of secrets and hides away from the world in an old shed behind the Finch’s household. Like in the song runaway he hides his secrets and eventually they become to much for him and he runs away from his life.

“Hot and Cold” by Katy Perry: The song “Hot and Cold” by Katy Perry describes the main mood set throughout the whole book. Throughout the whole book the different characters tend to change their minds a lot. For example, Augusten’s mother tends to show different emotions about a lot of different things. At the beginning of the book we see her as a loving wife with a husband and a young boy but she quickly changes into a bi sexual neglectful mother. Much like how something hot drastically changes to cold. It shows the sudden change in her character.

“The Taste The Touch” by Asteria: The song “The Taste The Touch describes a certain scene in the book. Toward the end of the book Augusten’s thirty three year old boyfriend runs away from everything. He doesn’t tell anyone where he is going or anything like that. Augusten talks about the different emotions he felt after Neil left even though before Neil ran away Augusten had told him he hated him. In the song the singer talks about how the touch of this person “drives me insane and I can’t spend a night without wishing I was with you.” This line is repeated throughout the song and it sets the town for this specific scene. Augusten talks about how he had waited by the phone for almost two years waiting for him to come back and about how every night he dreamed about him coming back and Augusten waiting for him there. This part of the book completely changes the character Augusten.

“Realize” by Colbie Caillat: I chose this song based on my personal opinion of Augusten and Natalie. Natalie is Dr. Finch’s daughter. Augusten has lived with the Finch’s for a little over a year. Although Natalie has gone through many boyfriends and Augusten is gay they are perfect for one another. Throughout the book they go on different adventures together and help each other get through touch times. Although it seems as though its more of a brotherly sisterly kind of relationship the tone of the author makes you think otherwise. In the song “Realize” Colbie talks about how the guy she is in love with should realize how perfect they would be for one another. Much like how Natalie and Augusten are.

“Always be my Baby” by David Cook: This song is about Augusten and Neil’s relationship. Augusten’s first actual boyfriend is Neil. Even though there is about a 20 year age difference there is also an incredible amount of emotional attachment to one another. Toward the end of the book Neil runs away to New York. He doesn’t tell Augusten about this and this greatly hurts him. The song “Always Be My Baby” talks about someone always loving the other person. How even though they have moved on and have found other people a part of them will always be with their first true love like in Neil and Augusten’s case. They will always love each other even if they have moved.

“Perfect” by Simple Plan: This song can help me relate to a lot of different things in the world. In this book the song refers to how Augusten’s mother feels toward him. Augusten is sometimes almost resentful at the way he has become a person. It reminds me a lot of this song because at the beginning of the book Augusten and his mother had a great relationship but than as Augusten begins to grow up and become his own person the mother almost seems to distant herself from her son because of the way he is. It also relates to how Augusten feels toward his mother and how he almost wants to apologize to her for the way he is. It’s a very sad song but is true for a lot of kids and there parents. It sets the tone for a lot of the scenes in this book.
“If I Fail” by Cartel: “If I Fail” is a song about a boyfriend and a girlfriend breaking up and the boyfriend is writing it to tell the girlfriend that he loves her but he may hurt her by being a relationship with her. This song reminds me a lot about the relationship between Augusten and his mother. Although in a way this song doesn’t completely relate to it this song reminded me of their relationship because Augusten’s mother treats him very badly. They get into countless amounts of fights and this song describes the way Augusten’s mom reacts to him. The main chorus of this song is “And if I fail well then i failed but at least I gave you something.” It shows that although Augusten’s mother may have failed at being a mother at least she gave him the knowledge of how to bring up his own children.

“Listen to Your Heart” by DHT: I chose this song as part of my soundtrack because a lot of the characters in this book listen to their heart when it comes to involving the people they love. An example of this is Neil and Augusten. They have been dating for about a year or so in the book. Toward the end of the book Neil becomes more and more distant from Augusten. One night he runs away to New York. This song especially reminds me of this climatic point in the book. The first chorus line of the song is, “Listen to your heart when he’s calling for you. Listen to your heart there’s nothing else you can do. I don’t know where your going and I don’t know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye.” This line especially describes what is going on in the specific part of the book and I think this song is one of the most perfect ones in order to describe what is going on between Neil and Augusten.

“Welcome To My Life” by Simple Plan: The song “Welcome To My Life,” is a story about a guy who doesn’t feel like he belongs in the world. It reminds me a lot about Augusten. He acts as though he doesn’t belong anywhere. The song also talks about being hurt and not being able to be helped. Much of like what Augusten feels daily throughout his life. It also relates to Augusten when Neil runs away to New York. It allows you to feel the emotions the narrator is experiencing.

“Here(in your arms)” by Hellogoodbye: This song is a lot different from the other songs on this soundtrack. I think that the book kind of ended on sort of a happy note and I think this song is a perfect example of how to wrap up my soundtrack. This song reminds me of when Augusten first meets Hope, Dr. Finch’s daughter. She is incredible and makes Augusten feel incredibly happy. Another part of the book I think this song relates to is when Neil runs away and Augusten talks about how much he misses him and such. This song is very important to my memoir.