20 Years Ago Tonight, Twin Peaks Went Off The Air

A Twin Peaks Contest / Giveaway

Hard to believe that twenty years ago tonight I was sitting alone in my dark bedroom, staring at the glowing TV screen bidding adieu to what was then and forever shall be my favorite television show ever aired. Or I was trying to muster up a fond farewell because in truth I was rather distracted by having the blanket pulled up to my eyes and concentrating on breathing through what still is to this day, one of the most terrifying hours of television I have ever sat through (the other most terrifying thing was likewise brought to us by the same show midway through it's run, the revelation of Laura Palmer's killer). I've watched a lot of genre television in my time, and nothing has yet to match the sheer surreal power and horror of Twin Peaks' final hour.

Yes, it's true. Your humble host was a Peaks freak all the way back when he was a child. I loved it. I obsessed over its many cryptic meanings and shadowy clues. Its atmosphere chilled me straight the bone and I still haven't come off its high. I doodled the hieroglyphics from Owl Cave on my 4 grade notebook in home room all the while humming the theme song under the teacher's voice. I daydreamed about James Hurley (James Marshall) sweeping me off my feet and stealing me away on his roaring Harley not to mention cracking cases with none other than Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). I over identified with Laura Palmer for many unsavory reasons and cried for her loss. Also, I was forbidden to watch any of it, but time and time again, I managed to sneak nearly every episode in. But most importantly, for the duration of its 29 episodes and a pilot, I was hopelessly and delightfully, lost. Never in all of broadcast television's history has there been a show so wonderfully and out-of-it's-damn-mind weird (seemingly, sometimes for the sake of it) and I'd hedge a bet that there never will be again. Though it lost viewers in droves when things really got really strange (leading to its premature demise), Twin Peaks' influence on pop culture is felt to this very day. Even now, the demand for every second of Angelo Badalamenti's stunning and creepy music is high, and David Lynch himself has taken to the call, releasing rare and unheard tracks from the show on a weekly basis over on his website. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer written by David's daughter Jennifer, after being out of print for eons is due to be republished soon. There is still an outcry on a daily basis across the web to see Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me's deleted footage (over an hours worth) finally released. Twin Peaks has been cited as an influence from everything from The X-Files, Carnivale, LOST, Fringe, The League of Gentlemen and dozens upon dozens of others. There has even been recent talk of ABC considering bringing the property back to life on the small screen (without Lynch and executive producer Mark Frost and without being a continuation of the previous incarnation, I say hell no).

Despite the show's continued popularity (as old fans and new revisit it with reruns on cable TV and DVD), the fact remains that Twin Peaks was years ahead of its time and ultimately cancelled way too early in its life as a result. Something that I still mourn to this day and as the shows anniversary of going off the air is tonight, I think we could all use a little cheering up to keep that cold, hard reality at bay. Thus, I present to you The October Country's very first contest / free giveaway. The rules are simple. Below is a gallery of images from episodes of Twin Peaks. They could be be images from any episode ranging from episode 1 - 29 (the pilot and the movie have not been included). Also, there could be more than one from the same episode. All you need to do, is let me know in the comments which image (15 total) is from which episode (numbered numerically corresponding to the photo's identifying letter) . That is all. The person with all the correct answers will win a free copy Twin Peaks Season Two on DVD (pictured above), still sealed and unused. Sound nice? Okay then, good luck dear readers!

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

The Man Behind The Mask Is Looking For The Book With The Pages Torn Out. He Is Going Towards The Hiding Place.

"Once upon a time, there was a place of great goodness, called the White Lodge. Gentle fawns gamboled there amidst happy, laughing spirits. The sounds of innocence and joy filled the air. And when it rained, it rained sweet nectar that infused one's heart with a desire to live life in truth and beauty. Generally speaking, a ghastly place, reeking of virtue's sour smell. Engorged with the whispered prayers of kneeling mothers, mewling newborns, and fools, young and old, compelled to do good without reason ... But, I am happy to point out that our story does not end in this wretched place of saccharine excess. For there's another place, its opposite: A place of almost unimaginable power, chock full of dark forces and vicious secrets. No prayers dare enter this frightful maw. The spirits there care not for good deeds or priestly invocations, they're as like to rip the flesh from your bone as greet you with a happy "good day." And if harnessed, these spirits in this hidden land of unmuffled screams and broken hearts would offer up a power so vast that its bearer might reorder the Earth itself to his liking."

And There's Always Music In The Air

For 24 Hours Only, The Twin Peaks Expanded Soundtracks!


That's right dear readers. For 24 hours only, The October Country will be acting as your gateway to the expanded soundtracks of the legendary Twin Peaks scores. Why are we doing this you ask, and why only for 24 hours? Well, for starters, we meant to post this awesome item a few months ago in celebration of Twin Peaks' 20th Anniversary but much like everything else we meant to get to, we didn't due to us just starting out as a website and not being able to find the time to get the project together (more on those details in a moment). Then David Lynch's birthday snuck up on us, which would have been the perfect momentous occasion but again, it came down to time, or the lack thereof. So now, we're throwing this up just because. Or rather, because there is always a time to celebrate the collaboration between Mr. Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti that resulted in one of the small screen's (and later the big screen's) most recognizable, inventive, toe-tapping, eerie, stylish and plain ol' awesome scores (not to mention Grammy winning).

That and a few more reasons starting with this, Reason #1: The original Twin Peaks soundtrack released at the time of the show's airing, is out of print and no longer commercially available to fans. As is 2007's follow up second volume of additional music Twin Peaks: Season 2 Music and More and the soundtrack to the franchise's silver screen endeavor, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Reason # 2: I'm guessing that many of the tracks contained herein will never be officially released in any form. Which is sad news for diehard fans.

Reason #3: After closing up shop last year, David Lynch's website has recently relaunched at The David Lynch Music Company, wherein he is releasing previously unavailable music (Twin Peaks pieces and other Lynch related material) on a weekly basis. Which is why we feel it would be nice to give you guys a retroactive selection from which to build your Peaks music library, and why ultimately, these links will only be available for 24 hours; you should heretofore visit The David Lynch Music Company and purchase his additional releases. Hopefully this post will get you excited enough to do just that, as all Peaks fans should be supporting this amazing business outing he is embarking on. Lord knows, many of us have prayed for just such a day since the series wrapped up in the early nineties.


What's so special about the albums being posted here you ask? Well, here is the lowdown. The tracks consist of the original out of print release, the season two release, currently still never released numbers (thanks in part, to qbin2001 at Lynchland.eu) ripped directly from the DVDs and cleaned up of nearly all dialogue, noise and sound effects (really, I've heard many of these kinds of projects and qbin2001 has done an stellar job), non-score music tracks used in the series and lastly, the newly released tracks gifted to us by David Lynch himself. I think that it is safe to say, that the albums below are without a doubt, the most complete collections of Twin Peaks music to date. Many painstaking hours were put into the arrangement of the albums. Anal retentive perfectionist that I am, I wanted to ensure that each individual album flowed from beginning to end and that variations of familiar themes were not bumping up alongside one another. If the albums were collected as originally released, the overall effect is a lot less cohesive (seeing as how the majority of the recurring themes were found solely on the first soundtrack). Additionally (being a completest), songs such as The Swan are contained here also. The Swan, with vocals by regular Lynch collaborator Julee Cruise, was not used in it's entirety on the show, but musical cues from it can be heard throughout the series. Thus, it's inclusion. Anyway, I think that you get the idea.

If there is any doubt that for a brief amount of time David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti were crafting some of the most ethereal, haunting and game changing music on network television, well here then is your proof below. The music of Twin Peaks coming to life in such a way that it was damn-near an additional supporting character on the show; characters themselves become nearly possessed by it's influence, breaking out into impromptu swaying and dancing by it's presence. (for more on this argument, see Kathryn Kalinak's essay "Distrubing the Guests with This Racket": Music and Twin Peaks from the must-own Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks). And listening to it even now as I type this, I can't help but feel possessed by it myself. Enjoy dear readers!




Twin Peaks Volume 1

1. Always Music In The Air
2. Twin Peaks Theme
3. Laura Palmer's Theme
4. The Nightengale
5. Americana (Original Version)
6. The Josie Story
7. The Arrow
8. Shelly
9. The King Must Die
10. Freshly Squeezed
11. Piano # 1 (Ben & Tojamura)
12. Josie And Truman
13. Pennsylvania 6-5000
14. The Norwegians
15. Colonel Rielly
16. Ransom Instructions
17. The Mill Deal
18. Discussing Windom
19. Audrey's Prayer
20. Annie & Cooper (Sleazy Audrey)
21. Confrontation
22. Cop Beat
23. Just You (Instrumental)
24. High School Swing
25. Night Bells
26. Dance Of The Dream Man
27. Love Theme From Twin Peaks
28. Falling

Total Running Time: 1.2 hours

Link:
"Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song and there's always music in the air."




Twin Peaks Volume 2

1. Good News
2. Twin Peaks Theme
3. Packard's Vibration
4. Rockin' Back Inside My Heart
5. Americana (On The Road)
6. Fear Is The Key
7. New Shoes
8. Windom And Leo / The Letter
9. Jones And Truman
10. Twin Peaks Theme (Alternative Version)
11. Lana's Theme
12. Letter From Harold
13. What A Wonderful World
14. Windom Earle's Theme
15. Barbershop
16. Ben's Interrogation
17. When Ben Comes Marching Home
18. Audrey
19. Windom's Deck
20. Harold's Theme
21. Frosty / Candy's Dandy
22. Just You
23. Hook Rug Dance
24. Falling (Nostalgia Version)
25. Drug Deal Blues
26. Into The Night
27. The Giant / You Forgot Something
28. Love Theme Intro

Total Running Time: 1.6 hours

Link:
"I love this music. Isn't it too dreamy?"


Twin Peaks Volume 3

1. Let's Rock
2. Twin Peaks Theme
3. Laura's Theme (Piano Version)
4. The Swan
5. Josie And Jonathan
6. Americana (Extended Mix)
7. Closure / The Owl
8. Dick Tremayne's Swing
9. 24 Hours / Removing The Pawn
10. Audrey's Dance
11. Behind The Mask
12. j' Attendrai
13. Hayward Boogie
14. I'm Hurt Bad
15. The Living Novel
16. Ronette Recognizes BOB
17. Chess & Message From Windom
18. The Bookhouse Boys
19. Americana (Cheerleader Tryouts)
20. Lana's Dance
21. Freshly Squeezed (Bass Clarinet Version)
22. Twin Peaks Theme (Piano Version)
23. Night Life In Twin Peaks
24. Don't Do This To Him
25. The Wolrd Spins
26. Dark Mood Woods / The Red Room
27. Love Theme Farewell

Total Running Time: 1.4 hours

Link:
"Lets Rock."



Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (Expanded Soundtrack)

1. I Am The Arm
2. Theme From Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
3. The Pine Float
4. Sycamore Trees
5. Don't Do Anything (I Wouldn't Do)
6. Deer Meadow Shuffle
7. Half Heart
8. A Real Indication
9. Questions In A World Of Blue
10. The Pink Room
11. Blue Frank
12. The Black Dog Runs At Night
13. Laura's Dark Boogie
14. Best Friends
15. Moving Through Time
16. Nightsea Wind
17. Montage From Twin Peaks: Girl Talk / Birds in Hell / Laura Palmer's Theme
18. The Voice Of Love
19. Requiem In C Minor

Total Running Time: 1.4 hours

Link:
"Do you know who I am? I am the arm, and I sound like this..."

A final reminder to keep your eyes trained on The David Lynch Music Company in the near future for more exciting releases to the Twin Peaks music library.

*Editor's Note:
All the downloads on here are for evaluation/preview purposes and if you download something that you like, then you should buy the DVD, CD, tape, or vinyl it comes from. Thanks