^{Photo courtesy of Twin Peaks (1990)}

You may not know his name, but if you’re any kind of film buff – or a fan of David Lynch’s ‘90s cult television series Twin Peaks – you’ve definitely heard his music. Badalamenti – who died on December 11th at the age of 85 – composed the extraordinary theme music for Twin Peaks and some of Lynch’s groundbreaking films, including Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, and Mulholland Drive.

His work for Lynch was gloriously haunting, eerie, and disturbing – the aural equivalent of Lynch’s unforgettable imagery. Together the two men created a most curious brand of American Gothic combining beauty and dread in equal measure.

Badalamenti also composed the scores for such films as Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel, The Comfort of Strangers.

David Lynch added lyrics to Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks‘ theme “Falling.” The late Julee Cruise sang it on the program and on the album Floating into the Night. If you haven’t heard it in a while – or would like to check out Badalamenti’s work – here you are:

Fallingwww.youtube.com