Blue Velvet

Mulholland Drive

Music by Angelo Badalamenti

 

 

 

Blue Velvet (1986) was the project that established the partnership between David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti on its welcomed public response.

Lynch, coming from the successful Elephant Man (1980) and the controversial Dune (1984), achieved in Blue Velvet the perfect measure of narrative, aesthetic elements and surreal inserts, returning to the experiences of Eraserhead (1977). Elegant and mysterious, Blue Velvet music was very important to match director´s aesthetic intentions. The nocturnal atmospheres of tracks Night Streets and especially Frank, come close to discomfort in their indecipherable shadows. Tracks like Jefrey's Dark Side and Frank Returns reference the music for the noirs films of the 40s and inaugurate the use of nostalgic elements that would become a trademark of both artists. The atmospheric jazz, almost as a cliché, which would characterize the work of Lynch and Badalamenti is already present here in Akron Meets the Blues. Lost on the profound darkness, Mysteries of Love is a ray of light of divine redemptive rise. But Mysteries of Love is so perfect and comforting that causes displacement as well as the idealized conclusion of the film. As habitual in Lynch movies, the soundtrack includes external songs like Honky Tonk pt1 and In Dreams by Roy Orbison. Unfortunately the CD edition does not feature the classic tune Blue Velvet with Bob Vinton but its version with Isabella Rossellini (as heard in the bar scene). As fascinating as terrifying, the surreal universe of David Lynch found in Badalamenti the definitive partner for sound packing his scenic nightmares.

 

Director and composer impressed one more time with Mulholland Drive (2001). Again referring to the 50, the soundtrack has a strong musical parallel with Blue Velvet, but it advances further toward the indefinite and dark as does the violin phrases of the title track, Mulholland Drive. Also like Blue Velvet, the reference to 50´s comes through stylish jazz themes (almost as musical caricatures) as Dinner Party, Pool Music and Silence. Also stylish jazzy is Pretty 50s and Go Get Some, both from Blue Bob, album recorded by David Lynch and John Neff. But is in the stealthy movements for winds and strings that Badalamenti delivers the best of the soundtrack. His sound conducts the hearing to depths seldom heard as in Diner, Mr. Roque and especially in the long track (twelve minutes) Dwarfland, with its enigmatic “sound eruptions”. Repeating the rules of director and composer, Mulholand Drive adds a new picture to the provocative gallery of the authors.