Back to the Double R: A Twin Peaks Rewatch

Howdy out there, denizens of the Lynchverse! Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag because we’re hopping on the midnight bus bound for the Inland Empire. This immersive meditation on Hollywood has a reputation for being EXTRA Lynchian—and we can see how folks might hesitate to dive in at first: It’s a bit of a commitment, that’s true, especially for leporiphobes. But your loyal servants at Back to the Double R have gone to the promised land to mark the way! And ended up right back where started! But with subtle and unspeakable insights we will nevertheless gab about for an hour and change: Jennifer maps the many places that the Inland Empire seems to be all at once; Damon is on the trail of stories within stories (within stories within stories); Colin brings in the scholarly big guns; and Jonathan presses play on the echoing themes of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”! For the Twist, we conjure up some of our favorite movies about making movies and ask WWDLD: What Would David Lynch Do? LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | BuzzSprout | Spotify | RSS | and more!

Hey, it’s a party! Two years of Back to the Double R and another damn fine Twin Peaks Day! We hope you’ve all come through the darkest weeks of the season and are ready for a little light, because we’re going full-Disney in one of the simultaneously Least- and Most-David-Lynch films in the catalog, the 1999 biopic, “The Straight Story.” In this extremely (in fact, literally) linear narrative, Alvin Straight takes to the open road upon his humble John Deere mower to reconnect with his brother before the chance slips away forever. Jonathan is here with an homage to the late, great Richard Farnsworth; Jennifer flips the script and finds this to be a “coming of old age” film; Damon ponders visions of an antiquated masculinity; and Colin asks what the structure of this picture tells us about Lynch’s style in general. For the Twist, we roll out some other real-life stories that would be fitting additions to the Lynchverse! LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | BuzzSprout | Spotify | RSS | and more!

Our tribute to a master. In November, we recorded our episode on the soundtrack to Twin Peaks and the excellent Clare Nina Norelli book in the 33-1/3 series that honors it so well. Then, in early December, we learned that Badalamenti had passed away, and our tribute became a remembrance. In these dark nights, as we crowd around the fire, alone or with those close to us, we are thinking about the magic that Maestro Badalamenti gave us. Wishing everyone a safe and joyful season, and a hopeful turn back toward the light… Happy holidays, Your friends at the 4-top

If it’s Halloween, this must be Eraserhead!! Greetings, dark spirits and woodspeople of all shapes and sizes! Welcome to Back to the Double R’s Very Special Horrorshow, in which we wander through the industrial and psychological wastelands of David Lynch’s first creature feature film, Eraserhead. What better way to celebrate the Spooky Season than in lush black and white, and claustrophobic paranoia? In this episode, Jennifer spots Eraserhead lurking throughout Twin Peaks; Jonathan dissects Lynch’s sympathy for the grotesque; Colin plunges through the inescapable surreal; and Damon comes face to face with the clutches of parental anxiety. For the Twist, we examine the stripped down production techniques of black-and-white film and minimal dialogue and ponder how they can send shivers right down us! Next month, it’s our long-rumored Musical Episode (well, sort of) in which we groove to Angelo Badalamenti’s timeless Twin Peaks soundtrack via Clare Nina Norelli’s book in the 33-1/3 series, available now via your local independent bookstore! LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | BuzzSprout | Spotify | RSS | and more!