A collection of David Lynch’s favourite songs: “I start crying like a baby when I hear that thing”
Some directors, actors, musicians and creators are easy to categorise. The Beatles may have been rock-affiliated, bu they were bonafide pop stars. Brad Pitt is a box office mainstay and Tom Hanks is the nice-guy version of him. Directors like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron are blockbuster-makers, while Stanley Kubrick was a meticulous maestro. Trying to pin down David Lynch, however, was a more difficult thing to do.
Like a zombie butterfly, he refused to be categorised and labelled, rejecting any attempt to hold him in a position he felt uncomfortable in — that, after all, was his job as serial director and auteur. The director always pushed himself to think outside of the box and demanded artistic integrity always be upheld during the process of making the movie, no matter the budget.
It’s an inspirational way of working, and it garnered Lynch a plethora of fervent fans, a lifetime of critical praise, and the odd award here and there. Like so many other filmmakers of his generation, Lynch didn’t simply find inspiration in the frames scrolled across the screen at his local cinema; he found it in the burst of counterculture that emanated from every nook and cranny of the 1960s. One such area of interest for most creatives at that time, and especially Lynch, was music.
Perhaps his ultimate font of ideas came directly from the music that so neatly spilt out of his speakers. Known for his own dalliance with pop music, Lynch often flirted with the idea of fully embracing the chaos of being a full-time musician. Instead, he’s kept things simple and ensured that music is intricately woven through his films. Like any real muso, Lynch’s list of ‘favourite songs’ probably changed with the tide, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try.
Across a host of different interviews from the years, as well as noting the songs used within his films and TV series, we’ve managed to collate an impressive list of the director’s favourite songs of all time, which showcased that he was, above all else, a devoted muso. It makes for a perfectly welcomed reminder of the wonderful appreciation Lynch held for all art. Whether it was within his or others’ films or, perhaps more importantly, in the inspiration behind them, Lynch was a bastion of freedom and creativity.
Some of the songs included are taken from his Twin Peaks days, even informing his writing style or featuring within his work. One song, in particular, became an integral part of the show’s return, Otis Redding’s ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’, but it was connected to his adoration for the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Speaking with Pitchfork, Lynch revealed: “There was Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company doing ‘Ball and Chain,’ Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Wild Thing,’ and there was Otis Redding. When I hear those three things, it just drives me crazy how great they are.”
Adding: “With Otis Redding, we reach this place in him, and I just couldn’t believe that version. It was so, so, so beautiful. So much feeling comes through that thing; it’s one of my all-time favourites. I just go nuts. I start crying like a baby when I hear that thing.”
Lynch also noted how incredible he believes artist Lissie to be, including her song ‘Wild West’ in The Return. “Lissie was definitely one of the acts that David wanted to be involved from the beginning,” the show’s music supervisor, Dean Hurley, tells DJ Morgan at KEXP. “He’s been a big fan of hers for years and discovered her by a series of videos she posted on YouTube covering Lady Gaga, Metallica, etc.”
Many of the songs featured in the list and corresponding playlist come from Lynch’s conversation with BBC 6 music’s Matt Everitt as part of the short ‘The First Time With’, which asks celebrities to look back on their formative years in music. For Lynch, he hangs on the brilliance of golden oldies like Buddy Holly’s classic ‘Peggy Sue’ as well as Roy Orbison’s shimmering beauty, ‘My Prayer’. But there were also nods to the avant-garde experimentations one would perhaps more easily associate with Lynch.
Artists such as Pixies, Björk and David Bowie, with whom Lynch worked on Walk in the Fire, are all mentioned as serial sources of inspiration for the director. Whether it be within his music or his screen artistry, music influences the entirety of his work. The show also saw Lynch profess his love for Depeche Mode, which may come as a slight surprise for fans. One artist that won’t be a surprise is Bob Dylan. Lynch has never been afraid to share his love for the iconic songwriter and even covered his song ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’ on his record The Big Dream.
Below, we’ve gathered up a host of different songs, either mentioned in interviews as his favourite or implanted within his cinematic work, to create a collection of David Lynch’s favourite songs. It makes for a killer playlist and a reminder of the sheer breadth of appreciation Lynch held for all art.
David Lynch’s favourite songs:
- The Platters – ‘My Prayer’
- Paris Sisters – ‘I Love How You Love Me’
- Booker T &The MG’s – ‘Green Onions’
- Otis Redding – ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
- Big Brother and The Holding Company – ‘Ball and Chain’
- Jimi Hendrix – ‘Wild Thing’
- TV on the Radio – ‘Second Song’
- Chris Isaak – ‘Wicked Game’
- Laura Marling – ‘Soothing’
- Ringo Starr – ‘Photograph’
- Roy Orbison – ‘My Prayer’
- Buddy Holly – ‘Peggy Sue’
- Elvis Presley – ‘Baby What You Want Me To Do’
- Pixies – ‘In Heaven’
- David Bowie – ‘I’m Deranged’
- Neil Young – ‘Love and War’
- Björk -‘Hyperballad’
- Depeche Mode – ‘Stripped’
- Lissie – ‘Wild West’
- Bob Dylan – ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’
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