The White Album
Book Playlist

The White Album Playlist

by Joan Didion

20 tracks
balanced
Sep 21, 2026

Didion’s The White Album moves through 1960s California with a sharp, documentary gaze—then tilts into dread, intimacy, and disorientation. This playlist stitches that mosaic feeling together: instrumental tracks act like the book’s investigative silence and empty spaces, while the vocal tracks echo the era’s romance, fracture, and moral unease.

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Track List

20 songs
1

Fanfare for the Common Man

Aaron Copland · Copland Conducts Copland - Expanded Edition (Fanfare for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring, Old American Songs (Complete), Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes)

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2

Appalachian Spring: Simple Gifts

Aaron Copland · Explore America

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3

Hedwig's Theme

John Williams · Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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4

Gonna Fly Now

Bill Conti · Auburn University Marching Band 2011-2012

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5

Requiem: Lacrimosa

Giuseppe Verdi · Verdi: Requiem

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6

The Entertainer

Scott Joplin · Fingerbreaker: Classics Of Ragtime And Early Jazz Piano

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7

Riders on the Storm

The Doors · L.A. Woman

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8

California Dreamin'

The Mamas & The Papas · All The Leaves Are Brown The Golden Era Collection

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9

Hotel California - 2013 Remaster

Eagles · Hotel California (2013 Remaster)

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10

L.A. Woman

The Doors · L.A. Woman

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11

I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Marvin Gaye · In The Groove

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12

Born To Be Wild

Steppenwolf · Classic Rock Radio

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13

Paint It, Black

The Rolling Stones · Aftermath

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14

Brown Eyed Girl

Van Morrison · Blowin' Your Mind!

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15

The End

The Doors · The Doors

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16

Walk, Don't Run

The Ventures · Walk Don't Run - All-Time Greatest Hits

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17

Pipeline

The Ventures · "Surfing"

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18

Green Onions

Booker T. & the M.G.'s · Green Onions

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19

Apache

The Shadows · Shadows Are Go!

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20

Misirlou

Gary Hoey · Monster Surf

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Playlist Settings

The preferences requested for this mix.

Mood balanced
Genre match
Era any
Length medium
Instrumental request 50%
Environment balanced

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