“Roses”

Outkast’s “Roses” is the soundtrack to the Landmark’s easygoing, suburban normality: its safe, comic sound contrasts with the harder atmosphere Matt associates with Mel’s, sharpening his sense that the two bars belong to different worlds.

The song in the Landmark

When Matt enters the Landmark, “Roses” is playing amid the brightness and noise. The song’s lyrics joke about roses smelling like boo-boo, and the narration characterizes it as safe, ghetto music. The music is part of a larger scene of sociable abundance: beer pitchers line tables, working beer signs and a Budweiser clock decorate the room, and softball teams celebrate together.

Contrast with Mel’s

The song helps establish what the Landmark is not. Unlike Mel’s, it has no cracked vinyl, peeling paint, or sawdust on the floor; little hard liquor is being served, and the crowd is made up of red-faced, healthy-looking patrons, including rec-league players and college students home on break. Matt’s judgment that this is no place for a thin line reflects his suspicion of the bar’s comfortable, unthreatening character. “Roses” contributes to that contrast by supplying a comic, accessible soundtrack for a room that feels worlds apart from Mel’s.