This week was the first anniversary of the premiere of Part
8 of Twin Peaks’ third season. Titled
“Gotta Light?” the episode delves into the past of the world of the series,
diving deep into the mythology of the creatures that haunt mankind from the
woods around the titular small town.
It also contains two memorable musical moments: a
performance by Nine Inch Nails of their song “She’s Gone Away” and an eerie
sequence of a small town being infested by woodsmen, scored by The Platters’ “My
Prayer”. Twin Peaks, as ever, is a
study in contrasts.
The music – both songs and score – of the most recent season
was a long way from the world of Angelo Badalamenti’s evocative compositions
for the original series. The new episodes were a critique of nostalgia; viewers
were denied much of what they wanted twenty-five years later.
Badalamenti’s theme song was retained, but his work is only
selectively used throughout season three. But with each moment of reprise, memories
rush back. Music helps us to re-enter the world we left so long ago.
Fire Walk With Us: The
Music of Twin Peaks, a two-night only event as part of the Melbourne
Cabaret Festival, plays on that nostalgia, but with various twists and a large
ever-changing seven-piece band.
For an hour, the group showcases the songs and score of
classic Twin Peaks and the prequel
film, Fire Walk With Me. It begins
with a fast version of the opening title theme for the film, music that haunts
me when it’s deliberately slow.
A selection of female vocalists (Tylea, Lucinda Shaw, Mia
Goodwin) take it in turn to tackle Julee Cruise classics like “The World Spins,”
“Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” and “Falling”. There’s also some welcome gender
revisionism when S.S. Sebastian tackles “Into the Night” and Lucinda Shaw sings
“Under the Sycamore Trees”.
Also welcome were a rocking version of “The Pink Room” and
an odd but intriguing take on “Audrey’s Dance”. Trickier to get right was a
performance of “Just You and I” (while from the original show, this performance
felt more like a hat tip to the season three appearance) and an encore of “No
Stars” – the only song on the set list from The Return.
Badalamenti and Cruise’s styles are so particular that
covers of these songs are often difficult for me to appreciate. The originals
are so set in my head, variations have a hard time convincing me. But Fire Walk With Us didn’t try too hard to
reinvent the wheel and with a big band and rich ambiance and some truly
haunting vocals and arrangements, this was another highlight of the Cabaret
Festival.
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