Twin Peaks is sort of scary, but I’d say it’s more funny than scary and more weird and a great starting point in my opinion besides that I’d say blue velvet or Mulholland Drive or really just start watching his interviews and weird stuff on YouTube. I really don’t think you can go wrong.
Mulholland Drive. There’s some violence in it and it’s suspenseful, but a lot of the foreboding is heightened by the soundtrack. (If you want to make the scary parts less scary, you could turn down the sound.) But the movie is worth the dread and tension. It blew my mind.
My basement is very scary and I wouldn't go in it even to save myself from a tornado, but I'm still into the idea that the universe might be down there. Or maybe in my attic? Or the plumbing? Also into the idea that I don't have to cut off my own ear in order to make great art.
Seriously, thanks for this. Much needed this morning.
You’ve hit upon something I haven’t heard anyone say: his being brilliant and having a dark vision but not being a dark or miserable person in his personal life. I loved how he was both deep-thinking and positive.
He had a script from 2010 that he said, in 2022, he was "still hoping to get made.” This implies he was not able to get financing for his film. Which is fascinating, but should also be somewhat of a comfort (albeit a cold comfort) to other artists. (i.e., if wildly revered David Lynch could not get money for his next film, maybe others shouldn’t feel too bad if they can’t get money for their projects.)
Alex! I think you got at why Lynch's passing is particularly tough for me. Knowing that he had found some sort of inner peace and was still capable of delving into the darkness was a big deal and bucks the notion that we all have to be miserable to create something great.
"Waiting for the shower to get hot, I asked God to let me come back to this place at least one more time." I'm not even sure what to say about that, except that I'm really glad you wrote it.💘💘💘
Alex, this is a great post. I don't mean to be too simplistic, but if you believe you will return to the feeling, you will. I can't wait to hear about it when you do.
My big three are Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Wild At Heart. They were such great rides … with the expectation that anything could happen, and the understanding that *anything* was not required to make sense and we could still enjoy the moments. And, I guess, speaking of rides, certainly a shout out to The Straight Story. It was something I never expected and didn’t know I wanted from Lynch … a lovely film.
Yet … while I only watched it once and never felt like I had a grip on it … Inland Empire, which I watched probably 10-15 years ago … has stayed with me. It likely crosses my mind, unbidden, once every month or two since. I can’t say I loved it or even liked it (in most part, I’m sure, because I struggled to understand it), but I keep promising myself to return to it, because, like so much of his work, it was something worth thinking about.
I love the idea of waves as a metaphor for your half glimpsed feelings of excitement. The tide might be coming in (with all your ideas) but in waves, which sometimes disappear and sometimes surge forward. Overall, the tide is still coming in. How’s that for a bit of positive thinking for you!! Keep going Alex, you’re a wonderful writer!
That quote about pain hits. I’ve always said that what we endure doesn’t make us better creatives or creative in general, it has us seeking ways to understand our pain and suffering, it may become a way to cope out a way to share our experiences with others. But also, people can just be creative. Many of us want to find meaning and understand or share what our world looks like—pain or no. I often wonder what I could do without my illnesses. I remember my boundless ten years and think about putting half that energy to my creativity. I have always been creative, so I would still always have something to share. It would just be different somethings. It’s mind blowing, really.
I don't think I have ever watched anything Lynchian – where do you suggest I start? I don't like SCARY, which is what I hear Twin Peaks is?!
Twin Peaks is sort of scary, but I’d say it’s more funny than scary and more weird and a great starting point in my opinion besides that I’d say blue velvet or Mulholland Drive or really just start watching his interviews and weird stuff on YouTube. I really don’t think you can go wrong.
I’d recommend The Elephant Man. You may weep but you will feel the love in it.
Mulholland Drive. There’s some violence in it and it’s suspenseful, but a lot of the foreboding is heightened by the soundtrack. (If you want to make the scary parts less scary, you could turn down the sound.) But the movie is worth the dread and tension. It blew my mind.
My basement is very scary and I wouldn't go in it even to save myself from a tornado, but I'm still into the idea that the universe might be down there. Or maybe in my attic? Or the plumbing? Also into the idea that I don't have to cut off my own ear in order to make great art.
Seriously, thanks for this. Much needed this morning.
The whole universe being down there does make it scary, right? Scary and exciting but also pretty scary. How do I even organize all that? ;)
What if it’s already organized?
You’ve hit upon something I haven’t heard anyone say: his being brilliant and having a dark vision but not being a dark or miserable person in his personal life. I loved how he was both deep-thinking and positive.
Yeassss exactly!! Like who else can u name like that
He had a script from 2010 that he said, in 2022, he was "still hoping to get made.” This implies he was not able to get financing for his film. Which is fascinating, but should also be somewhat of a comfort (albeit a cold comfort) to other artists. (i.e., if wildly revered David Lynch could not get money for his next film, maybe others shouldn’t feel too bad if they can’t get money for their projects.)
Alex! I think you got at why Lynch's passing is particularly tough for me. Knowing that he had found some sort of inner peace and was still capable of delving into the darkness was a big deal and bucks the notion that we all have to be miserable to create something great.
Exactly dude exactly!!! He is proof that really you can just be the thing, it’s so simple yet often so difficult???
"Waiting for the shower to get hot, I asked God to let me come back to this place at least one more time." I'm not even sure what to say about that, except that I'm really glad you wrote it.💘💘💘
Dang BA this made my day
😘😘😘
him saying "no i won't" gave me the permission to be me.
Cried reading this Alex thank you <3
Renee love u
Alex, this is a great post. I don't mean to be too simplistic, but if you believe you will return to the feeling, you will. I can't wait to hear about it when you do.
I think he meant the universe was in us. In our lives. As close as any part of your house.
No basement in my house but I am a weirdo and I attract weirdos. That’s the best thing about me.
Weirdos are the best!
he's a lighthouse
Thankyou for writing about him. He was a diamond in the rough. I have to remember to look in my basement more often.
My big three are Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Wild At Heart. They were such great rides … with the expectation that anything could happen, and the understanding that *anything* was not required to make sense and we could still enjoy the moments. And, I guess, speaking of rides, certainly a shout out to The Straight Story. It was something I never expected and didn’t know I wanted from Lynch … a lovely film.
Yet … while I only watched it once and never felt like I had a grip on it … Inland Empire, which I watched probably 10-15 years ago … has stayed with me. It likely crosses my mind, unbidden, once every month or two since. I can’t say I loved it or even liked it (in most part, I’m sure, because I struggled to understand it), but I keep promising myself to return to it, because, like so much of his work, it was something worth thinking about.
I love the idea of waves as a metaphor for your half glimpsed feelings of excitement. The tide might be coming in (with all your ideas) but in waves, which sometimes disappear and sometimes surge forward. Overall, the tide is still coming in. How’s that for a bit of positive thinking for you!! Keep going Alex, you’re a wonderful writer!
The tide always comes in again. I like that.
What of one doesn't have a basement?
The void is the universe
Well, then, that's cool!
We had a fab basement on the east coast. But I think I found G-d in the attic.
I remember Eraserhead played at the NuArt in LA for years.
I miss Lynch already.
Tbh I don’t think he’s ever gone cuz he was never here he was something else
That quote about pain hits. I’ve always said that what we endure doesn’t make us better creatives or creative in general, it has us seeking ways to understand our pain and suffering, it may become a way to cope out a way to share our experiences with others. But also, people can just be creative. Many of us want to find meaning and understand or share what our world looks like—pain or no. I often wonder what I could do without my illnesses. I remember my boundless ten years and think about putting half that energy to my creativity. I have always been creative, so I would still always have something to share. It would just be different somethings. It’s mind blowing, really.
Mind blowing indeed