Music and Playlist Symbol Analysis in Nothing Like the Movies

What the Music and Playlist Symbol Isn't Just Background Noise For Liz Buxbaum, music is a career goal, a personal diary, and a social tool all at once. She is pursuing a Music Industry degree with a Music Supervision concentration, and her mentor Lilith Grossman advises her to pursue music licensing as a stepping stone toward music supervision. But music is also how Liz processes her emotions: she assigns songs to moments in her life, curates playlists for parties, and imagines movie scenes scored by the tracks in her AirPods. For Wes Bennett, music is a way to reach Liz—a language he tries to speak, sometimes clumsily, sometimes beautifully. The novel's most striking use of the symbol comes in Chapter 49, which contains no narrative prose at all. Titled 'The Soundtrack of Wes and Liz Version 2.0,' the chapter is simply a numbered list of 32 songs, from 'Trouble's Coming' by Royal Blood to 'Dreamland' by Alexis Ffrench. By making the playlist the entire chapter, the novel suggests that music has become the story itself—a permanent record of the couple's emotional journey that words alone cannot capture. The 'Version 2.0' in the title implies an earlier soundtrack existed, suggesting that Wes and Liz's story has always been scored, even before this novel's events. ## Where the Symbol Recurs Music threads through nearly every phase of the novel, appearing in both private and shared moments. | Song | Where It Appears | Narrative Significance | |------|-----------------|----------------------| | 'Ever Since New York' (Harry Styles) | Liz's morning run, Chapter 2 | Establishes music as Liz's personal soundtrack; she calls it 'a total slice of autumn' | | 'Unwritten' (Natasha Bedingfield) | Liz's walk to her internship meeting, Chapter 10 | Liz assigns the song to a moment of gratitude, showing music as emotional meaning-making | | 'Chanel No. 5' (VOILÀ) | Wes's memory, Chapter 17 | The scent of Liz's perfume triggers the lyric in Wes's head, showing music as a memory trigger | | 'City of Stars' (La La Land soundtrack) | Wes and Liz's date, Chapter 37 | Wes deliberately plays it because Liz used to love the movie; she forwards past it | | 'One and Only' (Adele) | Hospital scene, Chapter 46 | Liz chooses it as the song for their movie; Wes plays it through his phone | | The full 32-song playlist | Chapter 49 | The entire chapter is the playlist, making music the novel's final word | In Chapter 2, Liz runs through Westwood with 'Ever Since New York' in her AirPods, describing the song as 'a total slice of autumn' and noting that the fall quarter means her 'playlists were buried in musical piles of freshly raked leaves.' The same chapter establishes her career trajectory: she is pursuing a Music Industry degree with a Music Supervision concentration, and her mentor Lilith Grossman advises her to pursue music licensing as a stepping stone toward music supervision. In Chapter 6, Liz's role as the DJ at her roommates' parties shows music as a social instrument. She curates playlists timed to a party's chronology—chill music for mingling, sing-along tracks for the rowdy middle, and 'all the bangers' for the peak. The chapter describes her obsession with seeing her musical selections work on a crowd, suggesting that music is how she connects with people without having to be the center of attention. Wes also uses music as a way to reach Liz. In Chapter 17, the scent of her perfume triggers the lyric 'You got anesthesia in your Chanel No. 5' in his head, showing that music is how his memories of her surface. In Chapter 37, he deliberately plays 'City of Stars' from La La Land on their date because she used to love the movie—but she forwards past it, signaling that his attempt to use music as a reconnection tool initially fails. The symbol reaches its emotional peak in Chapter 46, when Liz and Wes, reunited in the hospital, discuss what song would play in their movie. Liz chooses 'One and Only' by Adele, and Wes plays it through his phone. This moment transforms music from something Liz assigns privately to something they choose together. ## How the Symbol's Meaning Changes Early in the novel, music is Liz's private emotional vocabulary. She assigns songs to moments—'Unwritten' to her gratitude about her internship in Chapter 10—and uses playlists to control the atmosphere of social spaces. Music is something she does alone, in her head, or from her DJ platform. When Wes enters the picture, music becomes a contested bridge. His choice of 'City of Stars' is a deliberate callback to their shared history, but Liz's rejection of it shows that music cannot simply be deployed to erase past hurt. The song fails because it represents a version of their story that Liz is not ready to accept. By the hospital scene, music has become a shared language. Liz and Wes choose 'One and Only' together, and the act of selecting a song becomes an act of commitment. The final chapter's playlist extends this idea: the 32-song soundtrack is not just a collection of songs but a narrative in itself, a way of telling the Wes and Liz story through music when words have been exhausted. The playlist's range of genres—rock, pop, indie, orchestral—mirrors the emotional range of the relationship itself. ## Character Connections Liz Buxbaum: Music is both her career and her emotional register. Her internship with Lilith Grossman and her music classes at UCLA show music as professional ambition, while her habit of assigning songs to moments shows music as personal meaning-making. The playlist chapter is the culmination of her belief that music can tell a story. Wes Bennett: Wes initially uses music as a tool to reach Liz—playing 'City of Stars' on their date—but his understanding of music deepens over the course of the novel. By the hospital scene, he is willing to let Liz choose the song, suggesting that he has learned to meet her on her own terms. His father's voice, which he hears during the championship game, echoes words Liz had sent to the dugout, suggesting that music and words have become intertwined in his emotional life. Lilith Grossman: As Liz's mentor, Lilith represents the professional dimension of music. Her advice to pursue licensing as a path to music supervision gives Liz a concrete career roadmap and validates music as a legitimate life pursuit. Clark Waters: As Liz's roommate and coworker on the athletic department's video production team, Clark shares Liz's enthusiasm for creative projects. His reference to 'Supermassive Black Hole' during their vampire-themed baseball footage shoot shows how music becomes a shared shorthand among friends, not just between romantic partners. ## Theme Connections The symbol connects directly to the theme of music as an emotional archive and reconnection tool. Liz's playlists and song assignments function as an archive of her emotional life, and Wes's attempts to use music to reconnect show how songs can bridge past and present. The symbol also connects to the tension between pretending and genuine reconciliation. Wes's 'City of Stars' attempt is a form of pretending—trying to recreate a past moment without addressing what went wrong. The hospital scene, by contrast, represents genuine reconciliation because the song is chosen together, in the present. Finally, the playlist connects to the importance of acknowledging shared history. The songs in Chapter 49 reference moments from Wes and Liz's relationship—'Ever Since New York' from Liz's run, 'Chanel No. 5' from Wes's memory of her perfume, 'City of Stars' from their date, 'One and Only' from the hospital. The playlist is a record of their shared history, made permanent. The symbol also touches on confronting grief and guilt to embrace second chances: Wes's father's voice, which he hears during the championship game, echoes words Liz had sent to the dugout, suggesting that music and memory are intertwined in his healing process. ## Study Questions 1. Why does Liz reject 'City of Stars' when Wes plays it on their date? Liz forwards past the song even though she recognizes it immediately. The song represents a version of their relationship that Wes is trying to recreate without addressing the hurt he caused. Liz's rejection signals that music alone cannot repair their relationship—the song must be chosen together, in the present, rather than deployed as a nostalgic callback. 2. How does the structure of Chapter 49 reinforce the novel's treatment of music? Chapter 49 contains no narrative prose—only a numbered list of 32 songs. By making the playlist the entire chapter, the novel suggests that music has become the primary language of Wes and Liz's relationship. The songs function as a compressed retelling of their story, with each track referencing a moment or emotion from the novel. The 'Version 2.0' title implies an ongoing, evolving soundtrack, suggesting that their story continues to be scored even after the final chapter. 3. What does Liz's role as party DJ reveal about her character? Liz's DJ role shows that music is how she participates in social life without being the center of attention. She curates playlists to control the atmosphere, timing songs to match the party's energy. This reflects her broader approach to relationships: she uses music to express feelings she struggles to say aloud. The chapter describes her obsession with seeing her musical selections work on a crowd, suggesting that music is how she connects with people without having to be the center of attention. 4. How does the meaning of 'One and Only' differ from the meaning of 'City of Stars' in the novel? 'City of Stars' is Wes's unilateral choice, an attempt to recreate a past moment. 'One and Only' is chosen by Liz and played by Wes together, in the hospital, after they have reconciled. The shift from a song chosen by one person to a song chosen together mirrors the novel's arc from separation to genuine connection. The title of the Adele song itself—'One and Only'—reinforces the commitment they are making to each other in that moment.