Laura Dern. Naomi Watts. And, of course, Kyle MacLachlan. David Lynch has long had muses, actors and actresses he’s returned to again and again through his career. All three of these appear in the new Twin Peaks, as does his latest muse, Chrysta Bell. The difference is, she’s not an actress. FBI Agent Preston is her first role.
Bell is a musician, one Lynch has recorded with on several albums and EPs. Her music falls right in the Lynchian mold, creepy and haunted and dark. And for her new song, she teams up with the other master for creepy and haunted and dark, This Mortal Coil co-founder John Fryer. In honor of her new role, it’s a cover of Julee Cruise’s classic Twin Peaks theme “Falling.”
Fryer has also produced Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails, and he brings similar touches to Bell’s electro-tinged cover. Her voice sells Cruise’s haunted melody, but the production gives it an extra urgency that amps up the languid original. She told Vanity Fair about how the cover came about:
No one knew much about the new Twin Peaks, but in my mind, there was going to be a different theme song. I just figured David would make a new one. So I was inspired by this Guardian article, which made me realize that “Falling” came first, and the theme music for Twin Peaks was taken from the song. I always thought it was the other way around. So I thought I’d give my respect the only way I knew how, which was with my voice. And this is all happening before the show was out. This producer, John Fryer, made this beautiful, dark, very somehow cold but inviting track out of it, and it turned out to be very reflective of the mood of the new Twin Peaks. But this was nothing to do with the revival; it was just an homage to the song that captivated me as a child and made out of reverence for Julee Cruise, Angelo Badalamenti, and David.
Watch the video below, plus a live video of Bell covering another Twin Peaks classic in 2015, the original finale’s “Sycamore Trees.”
Check out more from Chrysta Bell at her website.
First role? A quick look on IMDB shows she actually white washed a Native American role in 1997 in a film called Once Upon a Time in China and America.
Love these covers! Though I must say that my favorite version of “Falling” will probably always be the cover by Xiu Xiu. Heard it?