a drink." The wrestling scene between Barton and Charlie is also cited as an example of homoerotic affection. "We consider that a sex scene," Joel Coen said in 2001. Sound and music Many of the sound effects in Barton Fink are laden with meaning. For example, Barton is summoned by a bell while dining in New York City; its sound is light and pleasant. By contrast, the eerie sustained bell of the Hotel Earle rings endlessly through the lobby, until Chet silences it. The nearby rooms of the hotel emit a constant chorus of guttural cries, moans, and assorted unidentifiable noises. These sounds coincide with Barton's confused mental state and punctuate Charlie's claim that "I hear everything that goes on in this dump." The applause in the first scene foreshadows the tension of Barton's move west, mixed as it is with the sound of an ocean wave crashing – an image which is shown onscreen soon thereafter. Another symbolic sound is the hum of a mosquito. Although Fink's producer insists that these parasites don't live in Los Angeles (since "mosquitos breed in swamps; this is a desert,") its distinctive sound is heard clearly as Barton watches a bug circle overhead in his hotel room. Later, he arrives at meetings with mosquito bites on his face. The insect also figures prominently into the revelation of Audrey's death; Barton slaps a mosquito feeding on her corpse and suddenly realizes she has been murdered. The high pitch of the mosquito's hum is echoed in the high strings used for the film's score. During filming, the Coens were contacted by an animal rights group who expressed concern about how mosquitoes would be treated. The score was composed by Carter Burwell, who has worked with the Coens since their first film. Unlike earlier projects, however – the Irish folk tune used for Miller's Crossing and an American folk song as the basis for Raising Arizona – Burwell wrote the music for Barton Fink without a specific inspiration. The score was released in 1996 on a compact disc, combined with the score for the Coens' film Fargo. (1996) Several songs used in the film are laden with meaning. At one point Mayhew stumbles away from Barton and Audrey, drunk. As he wanders, he hollers the folk song "Old Black Joe." (1853) Composed by Stephen Foster, it tells the tale of an elderly slave preparing to join