 According to Drew Miller of <unk> , the soundtrack " [ gives ] unconscious voice " to the characters ' <unk> and <unk> 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 <unk> American repression through music and drugs , Lester begins to smoke cannabis and listen to rock music . <unk> ' song choices " progress through the history of American popular music " . Miller argues that although some may be over familiar , there is a <unk> element at work , " making good on [ the 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 <unk> 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 <unk> , fantasy @-@ driven exterior of the ' American Beauty ' " — as it burns away to reveal " the timid , small @-@ <unk> girl who , like his wife , has <unk> developed a false public self " . 
