Daily Jam - Shadow

This column was originally published at the end of the summer in 2017.

So, I’m writing this column before the finale of Twin Peaks: The Return, but as it will air before I post this sucker online, I’m going to say that I’m sure I was riveted and will be talking about it for days…as I pretty much have with every other episode in the last three months. The consensus has been that getting a third season of the show has been a gift, and I concur wholeheartedly. Lynch and Frost drew me in hard this summer, and I’ll admit to maybe being a little obsessed. Okay, being totally obsessed. And now it’s over. And I’m going to miss getting a new installment every Sunday. And one of the things I’m probably going to miss the most is seeing my (almost) weekly music performance from The Roadhouse (aka the Bang Bang Bar).

So many great (and sometimes unexpected) performances were featured on the series, each feeling as much a part of Lynch’s soundscape as Julee Cruise or Angelo Badalamenti. I discovered some new artists, some new tunes, gained a new appreciation for some old bands I’ve listened to for years, and am now pumped for the upcoming new soundtrack albums coming out later this month. And starting it off was one of my favorite bands from the last decade, the dreamy and wistful Johnny Jewel project, Chromatics, performing the wonderful “Shadow.”

Originally surfacing a couple of years ago and intended to be on the band’s new album Dear Tommy, I kind of forgot about it, as that album’s release date kept getting pushed back farther and farther. We’re still not sure when (or if) we’re going to get it (we didn't), but seeing the band play the song on Twin Peaks got me anxious with anticipation all over again. Dreamy synths, poppy, subdued disco beats, Ruth Radelet’s angelic and haunting vocals, and Jewel’s airy and retro production aesthetic create a sonic environment that pairs all too perfectly with Lynch’s own audio and visual world. I want them making art together forever.

But now it’s ended. And maybe we’re sated, or maybe our hearts hurt, or maybe we’re cueing the whole thing up to watch and hear and love all over again, but at the very least, we got to experience something special, an intoxicating mix of experimental filmmaking, warped narrative, and pop art, a magnum opus that could very much prove to be a defining moment for all of the artists creating it. It was wonderful to visit this world again.

“…for the last time…for the last time.”

Noveller - Wrapped in Plastic

LA experimental artist Noveller comes back to "Twin Peaks" for more inspiration with her "Wrapped in Plastic" single.  Following up September's "Red Room" where she covered the show's theme song, this time around she tackles two themes for different characters with gorgeous and haunting takes on "Laura Palmer's Theme" and "Audrey's Dance."  Check out the former below and download both songs here.

Noveller Covers Twin Peaks

LA experimental artist Noveller dropped a cover of Angelo Badalamenti's "Twin Peaks (Main Theme)" yesterday, a dreamy and ethereal version for electric guitar.  Check it out below and get it here.

Twin Peaks

Here's a new jam from Chicago band Twin Peaks.  Listen to "What's the Matter" below and pre-order the upcoming "Side A" 10" here via Grand Jury Music.

Daily Jam (Covers Week) - Falling

Continuing our week of covers with The Wedding Present's excellent rendition of Julee Cruise's "Falling," giving the dreampop staple some lo-fi alt-rock oomph.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

RIP Peggy Lipton

Peggy Lipton was an actress, singer, model, and more, but to me she'll always be Norma Jennings.  When "Twin Peaks" returned in 2017, and brought back almost everyone to the fold, the amazing new series did not do much in the way of fan service.  And ultimately that's okay, because it's probably one of my favorite things to air on television in the last 20 years.  It was it's own thing.  That being said, the little piece of fan service that the show did provide was to finally let Norma and Big Ed be together.  And that was wonderful for my heart.  Lipton passed away yesterday at the age of 72.  RIP Peggy Lipton.  And goodnight Norma.

Julee Cruise

In August, the fine people over at Sacred Bones are releasing Julee Cruise's 1993 album "The Voice of Love" for the first time on vinyl.  That in and of itself is excellent news, but there's more.  The label is also releasing a 12"  called "Three Demos" that features, you guessed it, three demos of songs that eventually ended up on "Twin Peaks."  Listen to the demo version of "Floating" below and pre-order the records here.

Dean Hurley

It's pretty safe to say that i've been on a bit of a "Twin Peaks" binge of late.  Ever since the premiere of the season 3, "The Return," several weeks ago, i've been glued to my television every Sunday night, and filling in the rest of the week with articles, viewings of the original series, "Fire Walk With Me," and oh so many music cues.  The music has all been fantastic, and true to all David Lynch's work, the ambient sound design in between songs is just as entrancing and important.  And so we have "Anthology Resource Vol. 1" from Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley, a collection of ambient work that has appeared on "The Return."  For Peaks obsessives, this is an essential listen, each piece of sound weaving its way into your brain and pulling you out.  Stream the whole thing below and download it here from Sacred Bones.

Nine Inch Nails on Twin Peaks

Eight episodes in to the return of "Twin Peaks," and there's been a veritable bevy of amazing music and bands featured on the show so far.  Last night Nine Inch Nails made an appearance performing "She's Gone Away," and...it was pretty fucking awesome.  Anyway, watch below.

Trouble - Snake Eyes

I don't know about everyone else, but i've been enjoying the shit out of the "Twin Peaks" revival.  Truth be told, i'm kind of obsessed.  Anyway, if you've been watching, you've seen an array of different artists performing at The Bang Bang Bar, usually closing an episode out, and they've all been wonderful.  Episode 5 featured an assembled band called Trouble...and they make some of the most Lynchian music i can think of outside of Badalamenti or Roy Orbison.  And that makes sense seeing as the group consists of Lynch's son Riley, his longtime music supervisor Dean Hurley, and Incubator favorite Alex Zhang Hungtai of Dirty Beaches wailing on the tenor sax.  Listen to the marvelous and sinister "Snake Eyes" below, download it and another track here, and pre-order the 7" from Sacred Bones.

Hats off to Shawn for the heads up on this.

Chromatics - Shadow

Did everybody watch the return of "Twin Peaks" last night?  Yeah, it was awesome.  Yeah, i'm confused to, but that's kind of the deal with David Lynch.  Anyway, channeling Julee Cruise, Chromatics showed up at episode's end performing at The Bang Bang Bar, and now "Shadow" is pretty much set as my internal soundtrack for the rest of the week.  Please let "Dear Tommy" come out this year.  Is that too much to ask?  Watch the new video for "Shadow" below.

Flying Lotus remixes Twin Peaks Theme

With the third season of "Twin Peaks" just around the corner (this Sunday!), things are starting to hit a fever pitch around here, and unsurprisingly, i'm not alone in this.  Producer Flying Lotus just posted a remix to Angelo Badalamenti's "Twin Peaks Theme," which you can listen to and download below.  And while it's not anything that's going to change to world, it just gets me all the more excited.  Give me more!

Johnny Jewel - Windswept

After literal years of waiting and waiting for the elusive "Dear Tommy," an album that was completed...and then destroyed...and then recorded again, maybe to see the light of day at some point in the future, Johnny Jewel sure has been busy lately, issuing a whole slew of releases on his Italians Do It Better label.  In the last couple of days we've gotten videos for songs from the artist's new collection of soundtrack work, "Windswept."  Watch the videos for "Television Snow" and "Insomnia" below, expect to possibly hear them on the "Twin Peaks" revival later this month, and snag the album tomorrow.



And the other...

Twin Peaks

Over two years in the making, the good folks at Mondo/Death Waltz finally unveil their vinyl reissue of Angelo Badalamenti's score for David Lynch's "Twin Peaks."  This is one of the quintessential soundtracks out there, and wholly worth your time and cash.  Get it here and listen to the "Twin Peaks Theme" below.

Xiu Xiu - Into The Night

A week or two ago, i posted experimental band Xiu Xiu's cover of Julee Cruise's "Falling" from their upcoming "Twin Peaks" tribute/reinterpretation album.  Here's another cut from the record, which is definitely on my must-obtain list for Record Store Day this Saturday, and the video for the band's take on "Into The Night."

Xiu Xiu covers the music from Twin Peaks

Been a little busy lately with work and kids and SXSW, i barely just now had a chance to check out the slate of releases coming out on Record Store Day.  There's some great stuff set to come out, but if experimental band Xiu Xiu's "Twin Peaks" cover album isn't at the top of your list, then i don't know you anymore.  Listen to the dramatic and breathtaking cover of "Falling" below, and be sure to grab the record next month courtesy of Polyvinyl.

The Next Peak Vol. III

Retro Promenade have offered up the third installment of their synthesizer tribute to "Twin Peaks," this time around featuring an array of songs inspired by the TV series, rather than covers of the soundtrack.  There's some fun and interesting stuff going on here, the moods, themes, and even some dialog from "Twin Peaks" working and weaving through the synthetic soundscapes and neon afterglow.  Listen to Waveshaper's "The Ghost of Leland Palmer" below and download "The Next Peak Vol III" here.

The Next Peak Vol. II

Retro Promenade have unleashed the second volume of synthesizer interpretations of the music from "Twin Peaks."  Take a listen to 20Six Hundred's menacing reinterpretation of "Laura Palmer's Theme" called "She had a lot of Secrets" below and download "The Next Peak Vol. II" here.

Also, dig on that neon-Bob above.

The Next Peak Vol. 1

So, this is pretty awesome.  An Austin art collective called Retro Promenade put together a synthesizer tribute to the music from "Twin Peaks," and with a veritable "Twin Peaks" fever going on right now, thanks to the upcoming third season, it's just what everyone needs.  Also, on the contributors did a fantastic job.  Take a listen to The Astronaut Arcade covering Julee Cruise's "Falling," featuring project organizer Lucy Black on vocals below.  Then go here to download and grab a bunch of other goodies.

Twin Peaks to return in 2016

All the teases were true.  Laura Palmer wasn't bullshitting us when she said she'd see us again in 25 years.  David Lynch and company are bringing back beloved cult TV show "Twin Peaks" back in 2016, 25 years after the finale, to Showtime for nine episodes.  A million fanboys' heads just exploded.  Watch the teaser below.