The Twin Peaks Playlist

Damn Fine Sounds — Cyrus Shahrad compiles the definitive Twin Peaks playlist.

Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting score flowed through almost every scene in Twin Peaks, its mix of abstract jazz patterns, soaring pianos and swelling synthesisers creating a surreal and sinister atmosphere that seeped into the cultural consciousness, and soon became inextricable from the ‘otherness’ of the show as a whole.

Fittingly, musicians have been using Twin Peaks and its soundtrack as a source of inspiration ever since, from lyrical elegies to its absent lead character (Bastille’s Laura Palmer, Marilyn Manson’s Wrapped In Plastic) to faithful evocations of its swing jazz sensibility (Jenny Gabrielsson Mare’s The Black Lodge). Below, we’ve chosen some of the more interesting musical tributes, as well as a few key tracks from the original score.

The Twin Peaks Playlist

1. Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks Theme

Badalamenti’s legendary opening theme for the show.

 

2. Angelo Badalamenti – Dance Of The Dream Man

Probably the second most recognisable track from Badalamenti’s original score.

 

3. Angelo Badalamenti – Theme From Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me

Opening theme from the soundtrack to Lynch’s opinion dividing prequel.

 

4. Angelo Badalamenti & Thought Gang – A Real Indication

Angelo himself provides vocals on this track from the Fire Walk With Me soundtrack.

 

5. DJ Shadow – Transmission 3

The closing moment of Shadow’s seminal debut, blending the dream from John Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness with the Giant’s warning from episode 14.

 

6. Moby – Go

The dust had barely settled on Twin Peaks before a younger, ravier Moby capitalised on its popularity with Go, which made the UK top ten in 1991.

 

7. Stars Of The Lid – Music For Twin Peaks Episode 30 Part 1

Ambient tribute by Texas drone duo.

 

8. Nicolas Jaar – Conversation On Twin Peaks

Taken from a recent BBC1 Essential Mix: samples a documentary in which Badalamenti discusses how he wrote the Love Theme from Twin Peaks.

 

9. Aix Em Klemm – Sparkwood And 21

Track named after the junction where Laura Palmer was last seen alive, by ambient duo featuring one half of Stars Of The Lid (see above).

 

10. Sub Sub (feat Tricky) – Smoking Beagles

Samples ‘The Pink Room’, from Badalamenti’s Fire Walk With Me soundtrack.

 

11. Neroche – Sycamore Trees

Samples vocals by the late Jimmy Scott from Sycamore Trees, from the closing episode of the second season.

 

12. Yasume – When Audrey Dances

Electronic elegy to Sherilyn Fenn’s sultry daddy’s girl, from an album named Where We’re From The Birds Sing A Pretty Song, itself a Twin Peaks reference.

Cyrus Shahrad is a die-hard Twin Peaks fan, freelance writer and makes hauntingly beautiful electronic music as Hiatus.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.