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jimmbolina t1_j66d5zu wrote

Maybe the music chapters are little reminders that the shell/facade of a man still feels?

I personally just took it as an extension of his obsession with the way he is perceived by others. Music is one thing he can invest in that adds to the facade he's cultivating. Not to mention the artists he talks about are all famous at the time so maybe it's just him mirroring the rest of the USA's infatuation with celebrities.

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ChairmanUzamaoki OP t1_j66g8vo wrote

Could be, but in my opinion (which i haven't read it in a while) was always that music was the one thing that made him have a genuine feeling beyond trying to be #1 and better than everyone else.

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WizardOfBushwick t1_j68e9i2 wrote

The problem is the music is shallow. Even the one thing he maybe likes is superficial pop music. It just adds to the profound shallowness of his character.

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jimmbolina t1_j66gfnf wrote

This is true.

Maybe you're on to something about the "genuine" of music in a world of materialism.

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ChairmanUzamaoki OP t1_j66gzrp wrote

Very much a possibility. thanks for the response :)

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TheChocolateMelted t1_j67uggz wrote

Of course, there's an album that he buys three times because he wants to have it on every format ... Which brings it back to materialism.

Fro me, the music chapters show how he has to over-analyse everything, deconstruct it and take it apart instead of just enjoying it. Look at the praise he dumps on Huey Lewis and the News ... All those superlatives! Is that a fair, honest, appropriate assessment?

(Aware of the irony of over-analysing the music chapters after what I've just written!)

Edit: They also give us the scene in the filmed version where he monologues about Genesis (?). Pure brilliance!

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ChairmanUzamaoki OP t1_j687sco wrote

aw man, the film is one of the greatest ever made. His performance as Bateman was next level. Thanks tom cruise 🤣

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TheJester0330 t1_j69079u wrote

I disagree, his opinions on the music are shallow, and often miss the point. To use Hip to Be Square, Patrick sees it as a song about conformity, about how it's better to fit in then be an individual or buck the status quo.

Huey Lewis wrote the song satirically, it's meant to make fun if "squares" as it comments are people losing what makes them unique. Patrick doesn't understand this though because like everything ss he can only understand the surface level interpretation

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jimmbolina t1_j6asgr3 wrote

Could be. But just because he's interpreted the song wrong doesn't mean he can't have genuine feelings towards it.

I dunno. I just love talkin about books.

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