Music of Twin Peaks

The music of the American television series Twin Peaks, its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and its 2017 revival series was composed by Angelo Badalamenti. Twin Peaks' co-creator David Lynch wrote lyrics for five songs used throughout the series—including "Falling", "The Nightingale", "Into the Night", "Just You", and "Sycamore Trees"—and three songs featured in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, including "A Real Indication", "Questions in a World of Blue" and "The Black Dog Runs at Night". Julee Cruise, who made cameo appearances in both the series and film, provided vocals for four of Lynch's and Badalamenti's collaborations, and jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott performed on "Sycamore Trees". Three of the series' actors—James Marshall, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Sheryl Lee—provided vocals for "Just You".

Badalamenti's compositions have been released on four soundtrack albums: Soundtrack from Twin Peaks (1990), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Twin Peaks Music: Season Two Music and More (2007) and Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Original Soundtrack (2017). Starting in March 2011, David Lynch began distributing The Twin Peaks Archive, a collection of previously unreleased and unused songs on his official website for digital download. In total, 215 songs were made available for download.

Twin Peaks: Visual Soundtrack is a LaserDisc that plays like an elaborate music video. The show's entire soundtrack album is played over silent video footage shot by a Japanese TV crew visiting the Snoqualmie, Washington, locations where the series was shot.

For the revival series, two soundtracks were released on September 8, 2017, by Rhino Records: Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series and Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Original Soundtrack.[1] The first contained a majority of the performances at the Roadhouse and preexisting songs used throughout the third season,[2] and the second is the score to the series' third season, including previously unreleased Angelo Badalamenti compositions.[3]

Twin Peaks' music has received widespread critical acclaim. The Guardian has said that the original soundtrack "still marks the summit of TV soundtracks"[4] and AllMusic reviewer Stephen Eddins has referred to it as "a model of film music ideally matched to the images and actions it underscores."[5] The main theme song to Twin Peaks, composed by Badalamenti, also received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1991 Grammy Awards.

  1. ^ Roffman, Michael (May 22, 2017). "Twin Peaks getting two new soundtracks to obsess over". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Dom, Pieter (May 22, 2017). "New Twin Peaks Soundtracks Coming Out On CD, MP3 & Double Vinyl In September". Welcome to Twin Peaks. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Various Artists – Twin Peaks (Limited Event Series Original Soundtrack)". Rhino Entertainment. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  4. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (March 25, 2010). "Twin Peaks stills marks the summit of TV soundtracks". The Guardian. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  5. ^ Eddins, Stephen. "Twin Peaks [Original TV Soundtrack] – Angelo Badalamenti". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.