Audiodrome#8: Fire Walk With Me

It’s that time of the month again to head over to Paracinema.net and check out the latest instalment of Audiodrome. This month I take a look at Angelo Badalamenti’s evocative and moody score for Fire Walk With Me, David Lynch’s dark and disturbing prequel to his cult TV show, Twin Peaks.

The film follows the harrowing last seven days in the life of high school home coming queen Laura Palmer, as she descends into a nightmarish abyss of drugs, prostitution and abuse. Fire Walk With Me marked a drastic shift in tone from the beloved series: gone are the cherry pies and damn fine coffees, and all that remains is an unsettling tale of domestic abuse, incest and filicide. Badalamenti’s jazz-based score perfectly immerses us in this strange world, which while dangerous and dark, is not without its moments of abstract beauty.

While you’re over at Paracinema’s online lair, why not pick up the latest issue? It’s really rather good and all the articles address the theme of revenge in genre cinema…

Comments

Unknown said…
I love Fire Walk with Me, the score is remarkable. I talked to David Lynch about the scores to his work when we drove him from Dublin for BFQ a few years back. Wish I had the foresight to have taken notes.
17 May 2012 at 22:01
systemshocks said…
Great description of a great movie soundtrack, James. Lynch's most disturbing film imo. Who can forget the Pink Room scene and music? It captures that sense of drunken degradation perfectly. Have you heard Lynch's CD, Crazy Clown Time? It had good reviews.
18 May 2012 at 11:03
James Gracey said…
John you actually met and chatted to David Lynch??!! I hate you. Was that when he came to Belfast to talk about Transcendental Meditation? I went to that; hung around afterwards too, clutching a copy of Lynch on Lynch for him to sign, but just missed him as he left by the side door. I considered throwing myself in front of his car, but thought that maybe a BIT drastic.

Jon I have indeed heard Crazy Clown Time (a friend gave it to me for Christmas) - I LOVE it. Very moody, and believe it or not, a little 'Moby' in places. :)
18 May 2012 at 11:59
Wes said…
Excellent piece James, I always find it difficult to write about music. My favourite piece of music in the film, or rather musical device is the scene in the nightclub when that mantric music overpowers the dialogue - an incredible alienating use of music, and in it's own strange way reminds of that moment in Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho when the chapter runs out mid-sentence - I love that idea of short-circuiting the narrative, confounding the audience. I love the audacity of it...
18 May 2012 at 19:48
James Gracey said…
Cheers Wes. Yes, I love that piece of music too (The Pink Room). I thought about using it in the post but it was composed by David Lynch and not Mr Badalamenti - he just got together for a jamming session with the musicians involved in the scoring of FWWM and they came up with that piece. I agree with you about its overpowering nature in that scene (one of my favourites in the film). Interesting what you said about short-circuiting the narrative - Lynch does stuff like this regularly. For instance - I've been re-watching Twin Peaks - the opening scene of series two, with Cooper lying bleeding on the bedroom floor and the old guy who brings him a glass of milk. This was after the big cliff-hanger of series one, and Lynch just lets this moment meander. Frustrating but brilliant!
19 May 2012 at 11:33
psynno said…
Fantastic article over on Paracinema again James. Always love Lynch's solo synth work too. This is a great album.
21 May 2012 at 10:44
James Gracey said…
Cheers Paul. FWWM is a personal favourite. :)
21 May 2012 at 16:30
Chad Helder said…
I just watched the video for Crazy Clown Time a few hours ago--it really reminded me of that disturbing party scene in Fire Walk where they have to use subtitles. Lynch creates very disturbing worlds, and the music is a huge component of that for sure.
27 May 2012 at 01:27
James Gracey said…
Goodness! I just watched the video too, Chad. It is quite reminiscent of the club scene in FWWM. Thanks for the heads up! :)
29 May 2012 at 14:24
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