Music From the Films of David Lynch
It would be difficult to exaggerate Angelo Badalamenti’s contribution to David Lynch’s body of work. Unlike other director/ composer teams where the music was written to existing film, this collaboration began when the stories were still part of Lynch’s meditations. Like a patient to a therapist, Lynch would describe moods and feelings that were yet to be connected, with Angelo improvising a musical response. This might explain how the music feels so integrated within the films, seeming to know what transpired behind the white picket fences in the suburbs of Blue Velvet, or between the owls in the forest surrounding Twin Peaks.
Beyond his collaborations with Badalamenti, Lynch’s films are accentuated with a range of recorded music, much of it either reflecting his adolescent past or forecasting the future he was willing to embrace. The following is a chronological retrospective of some of the best music from the films of David Lynch, which of course includes the small screen series that most potently reflects his musical sensibilities.
“My musical world is a little bit dark… a little bit off-center. I think of it as tragically beautiful. That is how I would describe what I love best: tragically beautiful.”
– Angelo Badalamenti
Track List
In Heaven – The Lady in the Radiator (Eraserhead)
The Elephant Man Theme - John Morris (Elephant Man)
The Prophecy Theme – Toto w/ Brian Eno (Dune)
Sandy’s Dream - Excerpt from Blue Velvet
Main Title - Angelo Badalamenti (Blue Velvet)
Mysteries of Love (French Horn Solo) – Angelo Badalamenti (Blue Velvet)
Love Letters - Ketty Lester (Blue Velvet)
Blue Velvet, Blue Star (Montage) – Angelo Badalamenti (Blue Velvet)
Frank’s Toast - Excerpt from Blue Velvet
In Dreams - Roy Orbison (Blue Velvet)
Twin Peaks Tapes (Excerpt) – Special Agent Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks)
Twin Peaks Theme – Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks)
Fire Walk With Me Poem - The One Armed Man (Twin Peaks)
The World Spins – Julee Cruise (Twin Peaks)
Just You - James, Donna and Maddy (Twin Peaks)
Best Friends – Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks)
Twin Peaks Tapes (Excerpt) – Special Agent Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks)
Sycamore Trees – Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks/ Fire Walk With Me)
Love Me - Nicolas Cage (Wild at Heart)
Be-Bop A Lula - Blue Caps and Gene Vincent (Wild at Heart)
Perdita - Rubber City (Wild at Heart)
Blue Spanish Sky – Chris Isaak (Wild at Heart)
Song to the Siren - This Mortal Coil (Lost Highway)
Rose-s Theme – Angelo Badalamenti (Straight Story)
Laurens Walking – Angelo Badalamenti (Straight Story)
A Ma’s Attitude - Excerpt from Mulholland Drive
Dinner Party Pool Music - Angelo Badalamenti (Mulholland Drive)
I’ve Told Every Little Star – Jerome Kern (Mulholland Drive)
Crying (Llorando) - Rebekah Del Rio (Mulholland Drive)
David Lynch – Ghost of Love (Inland Empire)
David Lynch & Chrysta Bell – Polish Poem (Inland Empire)
Mantovani – Colors of My Life (Inland Empire)
Angelo Badalamenti – Laura Palmer’s Theme (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Angelo Badalamenti – Audrey’s Dance (Twin Peaks: The Return)
The Paris Sisters – I Love How You Love Me (Twins Peaks: The Return)
The Platters – My Prayer (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Rebekah Del Rio – No Stars (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Johnny Jewel – Windswept (Reprise) (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Johnny Jewel and Desire – Saturday (Evening) (Twin Peaks: The Return)
Julee Cruise – Falling (Demo Version) (Twin Peaks: The Return)
