Remembering David Lynch's musical legacy: 10 songs to go beyond the films

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AP2002

FILE - Filmmaker David Lynch poses at his Los Angeles home March 14, 2002. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks, File)

NEW YORK ā€“ The loss of singular talent and visionary filmmaker David Lynch is not only felt in the world of cinema, but music, where he had inextricable influence on multiple generations of artists.

Lynch, whose death was announced Thursday, composed music for many of his films, collaborated with others, directed music videos, released albums and inspired legions of creatives.

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You know his films, now, learn about his musical legacy. (You can hear all of the tracks on our Spotify playlist.)

ā€œIn Heavenā€ from ā€œEraserheadā€

Lynch composed much of the soundtrack to the clangorous ā€œEraserhead,ā€ his 1978 debut movie. It foreshadows both a long career in film and an enduring interest in using music to establish a surrealist ambience in his work. ā€œIn Heaven" holds particular resonance in the film. It's performed by a woman who lives in protagonist Henry Spencer's radiator, for one thing. It has been embraced by legions of indie rock fans. The Pixies have covered it and it is interpolated into Modest Mouseā€™s "Workinā€™ on Leavinā€™ the Livinā€™."

Chris Isaak, ā€œWicked Gameā€

Chris Isaakā€™s 1989 desert ballad ā€œWicked Gameā€ did not become a hit until it was included in Lynchā€™s 1990 romantic crime drama ā€œWild at Heart" starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. And that, my friends, is Lynch's musical power.

Angelo Badalamenti, ā€œTwin Peaksā€ theme

It would be a challenge to name a music and film collaboration stronger and more ideal than the one between Badalamenti and Lynch. They first worked together on 1986's ā€œBlue Velvet," leading to a long partnership (and, no doubt, armies of new Roy Orbison fans, given his placement in the film). But it's Badalamenti's theme for ā€œTwin Peaksā€ that fans no doubt think of first when their names appear.

The singer Julee Cruise had a hit in the song, titled ā€œFalling." It is the perfect distillation of the show's beauty, mystery and violence ā€” and that of its setting, the foggy Pacific Northwest.

Moby, ā€œGoā€

Moby sampled the ā€œTwin Peaksā€ theme in his 1991 single, ā€œGo,ā€ transforming the song into a career-making rave.

Later, in 2009, Lynch would direct a music video for Moby's "Shot in the Back of the Head.ā€ He had quite the run as a music video director, working with everyone from Nine Inch Nails and Donovan to the German nu-metal band Rammstein.

David Lynch, ā€œThank You Judgeā€

In 2001, Lynch released his debut album, ā€œBlueBOB,ā€ a sometimes industrial, goth-y (no surprise there) blues rock full-length. At times, it recalls the avant-garde no-wave of a cult classic band like Pere Ubu ā€” particularly on the track ā€œThank You Judge.ā€ It is very distorted, very reverb heavy, and very much not for the faint of heart.

David Lynch and Karen O, ā€œPinkyā€™s Dreamā€

In 2011, Lynch released the album ā€œCrazy Clown Time," producing the standout electro-pop opener ā€œPinky's Dream." It features the great singer Karen O, frontwoman of the '00s New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

David Lynch and Lykke Li, ā€œIā€™m Waiting Hereā€

On his third album, ā€œThe Big Dream,ā€ Lynch teamed up with Swedish singer Lykke Li for the dreamy ā€œI'm Waiting Here,ā€ a breathy, depressed doo-wop anti-hit that sounds like it was recorded in the spot where a sunset horizon hits an open road.

Chromatics, ā€œShadowā€

In 2017, 26 years after the end of the second season of ā€œTwin Peaks," the show returned for a limited series, ā€œTwin Peaks: The Return.ā€ It featured tons of performances from Lynch-approved acts ā€” Nine Inch Nails, Eddie Vedder, Sharon Van Etten and of course Julee Cruise among them. But a performance by the Portland, Oregon synthpop band Chromatics in episode two stands out. The song is ā€œShadow,ā€ and it is so undeniably perfect for the show, the band appears as if they were made for it.

Flying Lotus, ā€œFire Is Comingā€

Lynch is the first voice heard on Flying Lotus'"Fire Is Coming" ā€” a distinctive orator and storyteller, and a curious choice to open to a beat-heavy track from the inventive DJ. But looping Lynch saying the title track over and over again? That's an inspired decision.

Chrystabell & David Lynch, ā€œSublime Eternal Loveā€

In her review, The Associated Press' Krysta Fauria describes Lynch's last album, ā€œCellophane Memoriesā€ a collaboration with the artist Chrystabell, as ā€œsurrealistā€ and ā€œdifficult to categorize within a genre.ā€ She argues it can only be defined by its ā€œaustere lyrics and ambient soundscapes carried by Chrystabellā€™s hypnotic, reverbed vocals.ā€ Now that it has become Lynch's final album, it doubles as a fitting coda ā€” as does its closing track, ā€œSublime Eternal Love." It's a haunting, romantic vocal performance atop modulating synthetic production, the kind sound long associated with Lynch.


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