The greatest soul singer of all time, according to David Lynch
The films of David Lynch have a symbiotic relationship with music, just as the man himself did. Twin Peaks would not have been the same without that eerily beautiful Angelo Badalamenti theme. In a film full of sensual yet terrifying moments, Blue Velvet’s use of Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’ stands out. The key to understanding his most impenetrable moment, 2006’s nightmarish Inland Empire, lies in understanding his use of Little Eva’s version of ‘The Locomotion’ and Nina Simone’s ‘Sinnerman’.
Lynch understood and truly loved music. It was part of his boundless enthusiasm for everything the world could give him. After all, he saw beauty in the most forward-thinking, challenging works of art of his time and in the comforts of coffee and doughnuts. Not to mention that throughout his cinematic works, he was also a prolific musician. Who could forget a classic like Crazy Clown Time, after all?
This leads to an interesting question. If one is a creator like Lynch, open to all experiences and all forms of art, do they have ‘influences’ the way that other acts do? If you’re open to learning from anything, do you have artists that shape your art? For Lynch, we have at least one artist who’s directly inspired his work in the form of soul legend Otis Redding.
One of the most human, moving moments of Lynch’s entire body of work comes in Twin Peaks: The Return, specifically in episode 15, where (spoilers ahead), Everett McGill’s Ed confesses his love to Peggy Lipton’s Norma Jennings. In a moment of rollercoaster emotions that’s nearly manipulative in how effective it is, Lynch fakes us out. Making us believe for a moment that Norma has turned Ed down before accepting his marriage proposal to the sound of Redding’s deathless ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.’
The sound is the key to this moment, as it is one of the most beloved parts of the whole series. Considering that Twin Peaks: The Return is hailed as one of the best TV series of the century, it is saying a lot. In an interview with Pitchfork shortly after the series ended, Lynch elaborated on his reason for choosing that song in particular.
When asked what his relationship is with that song in particular, Lynch responds, “It’s the version from the Monterey Pop Festival. 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.”
An iconic creator as unique as Lynch feels so wholly singular that it feels odd that he would be so enamoured with another artist. But Redding was a huge inspiration: “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.” So do we, Dave, so do we.
His career often unnerved and, in some cases, terrified us with its choice in music. Who among us looked at their radiators the same way after Eraserhead? However, Lynch was no mere crafter of scares. This scene and this needle drop showed us just how well he could connect with us on a joyous, romantic level. Not only that, but find a way of communicating to us how a song felt to him, just through his art. He was a genuine one-off, and it will be a long time before we see his like again.
