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According to Drew Miller of Stylus, the soundtrack " unconscious voice " to the characters ' psyches and complements the subtext.
The most obvious use of pop music " accompanies and gives context to " Lester's attempts to recapture his youth ; reminiscent of how the counterculture of the 1960s combated American repression through music and drugs, Lester begins to smoke cannabis and listen to rock music.
Mendes ' song choices " progress through the history of American popular music ".
Miller argues that although some may be over familiar, there is a parodic element at work, " making good on film's encouragement that viewers look closer ".
Toward the end of the film, Thomas Newman's score features more prominently, creating " a disturbing tempo " that matches the tension of the visuals.
The exception is " Don't Let It Bring You Down ", which plays during Angela's seduction of Lester.
At first appropriate, its tone clashes as the seduction stops.
The lyrics, which speak of " castles burning ", can be seen as a metaphor for Lester's view of Angela —" the rosy, fantasy-driven exterior of the ' American Beauty — as it burns away to reveal " the timid, small-breasted girl who, like his wife, has willfully developed a false public self ".

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