David Lynch
Today we’re listening to and remembering David Lynch, an American filmmaker, artist, and musician. He was born in Montana in 1946, and his father’s job in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service moved the family to Idaho, Washington, North Carolina, and finally Virginia.1 He studied painting at art school, and went on to make sui generis films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, and Mulholland Drive. Richard Brody observed that Lynch “sees what’s kept invisible and reveals what’s kept scrupulously hidden, and his visions shatter veneers of respectability to depict, in fantasy form, unbearable realities.” Lynch was hands-on with the scoring and sound design of his films,2 something that Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti memorably recounted in a making-of clip. We’re playing the Twin Peaks original soundtrack as well as the collection Twin Peaks: Season Two Music and More that was released in 2007. Last week, Lynch passed away at age 78. Today would have been his 79th birthday; at 12pm PST there will be a ten-minute worldwide meditation in memoriam.3
Soundtrack from Twin Peaks - Angelo Badalamenti (50m, vocals on tracks 4, 7, and 11)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal
Twin Peaks: Season Two Music and More - Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch (75m, vocals on tracks 11, 13, and 24)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal
We wish you a great start to your week.
NPR has a great piece on Lynch’s musical legacy; also recommended is this clip of Lynch from the recent Beatles ‘64 documentary
First-time listener; never viewed 'Twin Peaks' so the music is fresh and detached from whatever context it had there, so I am probably hearing it differently, missing associations with plot or character but appreciating the structure. Lounge, jazz, a pinch of ethereal/dreampop and some 20th century orchestral compositions. Often operates just on the edge of 'work appropriate' - conflicts with difficult writing but may make easier or simpler writing more pleasant.
that clip of david lynch from the beatles doc is so great