Songs from the Roadhouse
ISSUE #215
That gum you like? It’s coming back in style—today I made a playlist of bands that would almost certainly play at the Roadhouse from Twin Peaks, from dream pop to darkwave to jazz-flavored country. It’s another of my best friends’ birthdays (his 30th), and we’ve shared a Twin Peaks journey all the way to The Return, which we watched as it aired when we first moved to Atlanta.
For David Lynch stories, music is a beam of light, typically portrayed as a pure force for good and blissful relief from his murky dreamscapes. Think the opera singer in Mulholland Dr. bringing the central duo to tears, the Woman in the Radiator singing Eraserhead’s lullaby, and every (real) band that graced the stage at the close of each chapter of The Return.
If only there were a place as sublime as the Roadhouse. There’s nothing more vital for a thriving spirit than live music, a community—particularly life changing when you come from the middle of nowhere, where darkness sits just on the edge of town. In heaven, there’s a barn where you can show up any night and be all but guaranteed an incredible show. Red curtains, sawdust floors, a respite from night, and all the people you ever need to know—plug in, grab a seat, play pretend. Let’s rock.
I’ve been watching through the films of Danny Boyle. Some examples: Trainspotting, Sunshine, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire. From early on, Boyle was rightfully recognized for his edgy and sophisticated musical taste—the Trainspotting soundtrack alone, from Iggy’s “Lust for Life” through Underworld’s “Born Slippy (Nuxx)”, helped define the tastes of a whole generation.