With all the horror of *waves arms at America*, I did not have a chance to properly pay my respects to the passing of David Lynch. Along with Jimmy Carter and a couple others, the avant-garde auteur was among my few remaining favorite straight white men. His death earlier this month leaves a hole, but as he himself said – keep your eye on the donut and not the hole. So the donut of David Lynch’s life was his extraordinary creativity, his endless curiosity, his embrace of the absurd. Yet for all the darkness and mystery in his work, there was an essential kindness that often shone through as well.
I have been a fan of his work since “Twin Peaks” blew my little teenage mind when it debuted in 1992 and became obsessed with the show and subsequent film and even the 2017 reboot (which, while it had some diminishing returns was classic Lynch none the less). “Mulholland Drive” remains a masterpiece in through-the-looking-glass surrealist storytelling. I love that he believed things should be weird for the sake of being weird. And weird it certainly was.
What I also loved is how he incorporated music to create his dream/nightmare/WTF-scapes. And nothing typified that more than his collaboration with Julee Cruise. He used the singer and former B-52’s touring member’s song “Falling” as the iconic theme to “Twin Peaks.” She appeared in the series, movie and reboot before her passing in 2022. That music is now part of the soundtrack of my life. Even today all I have to hear is those first few atmospheric opening notes to be right back in the Pacific Northwest ready to drink some damn fine coffee while gently cradling a log. Happy Monday, kittens.
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