Lamb Chop Girl sings!…
Otherwise known as the ‘Lady in The Radiator’, I call Laurel Near from “Eraserhead” (1977) ‘Lamb Chop Girl’ for her interesting facial hair…
This holiday weekend, Hulu is making their Criterion Collection of (mostly) classic films available for free viewing. David Lynch’s debut feature film is currently on offer here: “Eraserhead”. One of the strangest and most original crazy-ass visions ever committed to celluloid. Weird as HELL, and recommended!
Just a few years ago I got into a major David Lynch phase. It started with Eraserhead, that being in the small part of his work that I hadn’t already seen. Months later I dove into a lively discussion of what the film actually means. However, it is hard to be conclusive, and also almost certain that many elements were purely aesthetic choices with no deliberate symbolism. Still it feels like there is something deep within all the craziness.
Also, for people who engage in extensive audio editing, that film as an interesting case study. Sometimes blurring the line between music and ambient sounds, there is a richness there that comes from years of reworking the mix — applying new layers of effects and folding the sound upon itself over and over like a katana at the forge. Given the proliferation of cheap CPU power nowadays, it seems like there might be lessons in here for breaking new ground in massively repeated EFX processes.
Comment on February 17, 2013 @ 7:42 pm
Demonweed: Beyond the obvious dystopic dispair and desperation in ‘Eraser’, there’s only one person who really knows what ‘Eraserhead’ is ‘about’. And Mr. Lynch ain’t talkin’!
I watched it again last night after many years. Even this early, many trademark ‘Lynchisms’ are firmly in place. The oppressive feeling of impending doom seems ever-present. Pauses in dialogue are often not just ‘pregnant’ – the child must be 10 by the time the line is finally delivered!
While there’s not much actual music in Eraserhead, there IS quite a bit of ‘enhanced sonic ambience’, the 24/7 sound of the surrounding factories being a large component. Lynch’s partnership with Angelo Badalamenti began later (in ‘Blue Velvet’ [1986]). Dream music. Another device is the crackling/flickering lights used in Lynch’s projects – strobes and/or ‘normal’ lights.
Finally, there are the Roman Catholic religious symbols… angels and devils. No doubt artifacts of a Catholic upbringing. More recently, Lynch practices Trancendental Meditation (TM™).
I don’t think David Lynch is as concerned with ‘meaning’ as he is with how his work makes the audience FEEL…
UNEASY!
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 9:22 am
BTW Demonweed: I liked your description of Lynchian ‘ambient’ sound:
Nice!
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 10:52 am
“A candy-coloured clown they call the ‘sandman’…
Roy Orbison’s near-operatic delivery… and that VOICE! make this scene from “Blue Velvet” (1986) all the more eerie… and memorable!
Click! Ah! There’s the requisite ambient sound of Doom [2:57]:
“Now it’s dark. Let’s FUCK! I’ll fuck anything that moves! (ha-ha-ha)”
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
An old girlfriend of mine once fainted in the lobby during the intermission for Eraserhead.
Dropped like a stone. I caught her, and she was only out for a minute, but we did not see the second half.
Eraserhead was formative for me. Truly powerful.
In heaven, everything is fine.
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 1:14 pm
Byronius your story reminds me of the time my wife feinted in the first act of Handel’s opera Julio Caesar. We were in entirely different parts of the theater as we were watching it Standing Room Only. She was standing at the rail in back and the man who was standing behind her happened to be a doctor and caught her in mid-collapse. We also did not see the second half.
Believe it or not – and I know this is sacrilege – I’ve not yet seen Eraserhead.
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 9:29 pm
Be sitting down, probably.
Comment on February 18, 2013 @ 11:48 pm
Sky — I just listened to an amazing interview with Mel Brooks, who describes seeing Eraserhead, thinking it was brilliant, and deciding that Lynch would be the ideal director for Elephant Man.
Unreal.
Comment on February 20, 2013 @ 11:52 am