Dealing an irrational paranoia of germs was a great obstacle to accomplishing his many goals in theater and the aircraft industry. The opening scene of the movie is one of the most important of the entire film because of the visible effect Howard's mother had on him as a child. She tells him, "You are not safe." This upbringing has led Howard to meticulous, debilitating habits to attempt to avoid germs, and at times he would go months without leaving a hotel room. Hughes was already a great airplane designer and movie producer; who knows how great he could have been if he had not suffered from this distraught paranoia. I chose “Destroyer,” by The Kinks to depict this unfortunate and horrible craziness.

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer. Silly boy ya' self-destroyer

Silly boy you got so much to live for
So much to aim for, so much to try for
You blowing it all with paranoia
You're so insecure you self-destroyer

(And it goes like this, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Here it goes again)
Paranoia, the destroyer

Doctor, Doctor help me please, I know you'll understand
There's a time device inside of me, I'm a self-destructin' man
There's a red, under my bed
And there's a little green man in my head
And he said, "you're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad
'Cause there's a man in ya, gnawin' ya, tearin' ya into two."

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer.
Paranoia, the destroyer

Self-destroyer, wreck your health
Destroy friends, destroy yourself
The time device of self-destruction
Light the fuse and start eruption

(Yea, it goes like this, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Here's to paranoia)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(Hey hey, here it goes)
Paranoia, the destroyer
(And it goes like this)

Paranoia, the destroyer
(And it goes like this.)

Though his paranoia of germs and mental breakdowns slowed his success down, Hughes refused to quit any projects or back down to anyone, indifferent to their high status. When he didn’t break the airspeed world record, he kept on trying until he finally did. When pilots in his movie refused to fly in the dangerous clouds he went up there himself and ended up crashing but got the shot he wanted. People said his Hercules aircraft wouldn’t make it off the water, and he proved them wrong. Even when the Senate unrightfully investigated him and his airline company TWA, he went into the hearing and successfully exposed a senator’s dealings with another airline company. Hughes never backed down to a challenge his entire life, risking any financial means or even his life if necessary. I picked Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” to represent this quality of Hughes’s character.

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
and I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
you could stand me up at the gates of hell
but I won't back down

Howard Hughes was known around Hollywood as a womanizer and goes through several relationships in the movie. The reason I think this song fits so well is because it stresses how he always need a woman there for him, but she also needs to know how to hit the road because he needs his alone time. Furthermore, it stresses the importance of a lover who won't drive him crazy. Already struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder and other psychological problems, Hughes's life is already nerve racking and wearisome enough.

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl to thrill me and then go away
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of a
Hey hit the highway

There is no question that Howard Hughes was a perfectionist down to every last detail of his productions, creations, and his life in general. This meticulousness can be see constantly during the film. For example, while making his successful film “Hell’s Angels,” his director quit, he let the lead actress go, re-shot many large segments of the film, waited weeks for the perfect cloud formation, shot film at eight different locations and after three years of work only used 36% of the total film shot. He pushed everybody working for him to their limits, most of the times the end result being quitting or firing. I chose the song “Can’t Get No Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones because of his inability to ever to be satisfied with an imperfect or incomplete task. There is also a video clip underneath the lyrics that shows different parts of the movie and is a great example of his obsession with perfection.

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'cause i try and i try and i try and i try
I can't get no, i can't get no

Lyrics "Satisfaction"

To represent his perpetually fast-paced lifestyle I chose “I’m in a Hurry,” by Alabama. He would stay awake hours upon hours working on his projects, not taking a break until they were perfected. After one was done, there was always something else to begin immediately. He also had projects like the “Hercules” which was a side project that he worked on for all his life. Also, I think the line, “It's a race and there ain't no room for someone in second place” perfectly symbolizes how Hughes pushed himself to perfectionism. Some of his projects might have taken him a long time to complete, but he took very rare breaks unless he was having one of his mental break downs. Also he literally did “rush and rush till life’s no fun.” By the end of his life he was in the record books for many achievements in aviation and was accepted in Hollywood as a great movie producer.

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

Don't know why I have to drive so fast
My car has nothing to prove
It's not new
But it'll do zero to sixty in five point two

[Chorus]

Can't be late, I leave in plenty of time
Shakin' hands with the clock
I can't stop
I'm on a roll and I'm ready to rock

[Chorus]

Oh, I hear a voice
That says I'm running behind
Better pick up my pace
It's a race and there ain't no room for someone in second place

[Chorus]

To represent the later years of his life I chose “Life in the Fast Lane,” by the Eagles. This song is about the fast-paced life that some celebrities choose to live after stardom and the negatives that come along with it. Hughes’s recognition began at a young age with his production of Hell’s Angels and from then on his life consisted of increasingly rising fame, making frequent public appearances at festivities and parties. As a middle aged man he became his mental illness got progressively worse and an addiction to drugs became apparent. I think one of the causes of him being such a wreck at not that old of an age was a direct consequence of his younger years being so stressful and taxing on his mind and body.

Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the drop of a name
They knew all the right people, they took
all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavenly bills

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane, everything all the time
Life in the fast lane, uh huh
Blowin' and burnin', blinded by thirst
They didn't see the stop sign,
took a turn for the worse

His state of mind when he died was probably the same as it was his entire life: unsatisfied. This is why I chose “Satisfied Mind,” by the Byrds. Hughes was very rich for all of his life and his spoiling by his parents caused him to become an introvert at a very early age. Even though most of his money was made because of his constant desire to be the best in everything he did, I think the extraordinary amount of money he earned had an effect on his social life. He never had any real friends, only relationships. Without a single good friend in the nerve-racking environment he put himself through working nonstop, it would be hard to live a happy life. Instead of trying to make friends, he used his money to turn to drugs. These drugs, among other things, led to his decay in his later years and eventually his death that was most likely with an unsatisfied mind.

How many times have you heard someone say
If I had his money I'd do things my way
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind
For money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a heart that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
Once I was living in fortune and fame
I had all that I dreamed of to get a start in life's game
Then suddenly it happened and I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind

“Take it to the Limit,” by the Eagles captures one of the most prominent themes of Howard Hughes life. Everything he undertook, he pushed himself and all others to their last breath. This is why he was successful, but it is also why he did not have any friends or any long lasting relationships, and why the last years of his life were so miserable.

Lyrics "Take it to the Limit"