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Eraserhead (soundtrack)

Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
various
ReleasedJune 15, 1982
Recorded
  • 1927
  • 1976 (1976)–1977 (1977)
Genre
Length37:47
LabelI.R.S.
ProducerDavid Lynch, Alan Splet
David Lynch soundtrack chronology
Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack
(1982) 		David Lynch's Mulholland Drive: Music from the Motion Picture
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork Media8.8/10[3]

Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack (sometimes referred to as Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack Recording or just Eraserhead) is a 1982 soundtrack album composed by David Lynch and Alan Splet as the soundtrack for Lynch's 1977 film Eraserhead.[4][5][6] Sacred Bones Records remastered and reissued the album in 2012.[7]

Recording

The mood and tone of Eraserhead and its soundtrack were influenced by Philadelphia's post-industrial history. Lynch lived in the city while studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and was fascinated by its feeling of constant danger; describing it both as a "sick, twisted, violent, fear ridden, decaying place" and "beautiful, if you see it the right way."[8][9][1] Lynch and Splet used avant-garde approaches to recording on the soundtrack; including crafting almost every sound in the soundtrack from scratch using bizarre methods. The ambiance of the love scene in the movie, for example, was produced by recording air blown through a microphone as it sat inside a bottle floating in a bathtub.[10] Lynch and Splet worked "9 hours a day for 63 days" to produce the soundtrack and all of the sound effects in the film. Splet recalls the sound effects Lynch called on him to produce for Eraserhead as "snapping, humming, buzzing, banging, like lightning, shrieking, squealing” over the five years it took to produce the film and its soundtrack.[11] Splet had worked with Lynch since his short film The Grandmother. Also during the production of the soundtrack, Lynch drew two telephone wires for Splet, each line indicating between four and five pitches he wanted to be represented in the movie's music and sound effects. When Splet played Lynch Fats Waller-esque pipe organ numbers as soundtrack material, Lynch was immediately confident in the pipe-organ style, stating that he had "never listened to any other kind of music for (Eraserhead). I knew that was it."[11]

Release

The original soundtrack for Eraserhead was released via I.R.S. Records on LP in the United States on June 15, 1982, with 5 tracks. Side A consists of three songs written by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Side B consists of "In Heaven", the song performed by Laurel Near's character the Lady in the Radiator in the original film.

It was reissued in 2012 by Sacred Bones Records in the form of a deluxe LP box set with additional 7" and as a deluxe CD. Tracklistings vary heavily throughout the numerous variations of the album.

Track listing

Original 1982 I.R.S. LP

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Digah's Stomp"Thomas "Fats" Waller 
2."Lenox Avenue Blues"Waller 
3."Stompin' the Bug"Mercedes Gilbert, Phil Worde 
4."Messin' Around with the Blues"Waller 
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)"David Lynch, Peter Ivers, Thomas "Fats" Waller 

Absurda 2001 CD

No.TitleLength
1."Side One"20:09
2."Side Two"18:29
3."Eraserhead Dance Mix"10:16
Total length:48:54

Sacred Bones 2012 deluxe reissue CD and LP

All music is composed by David Lynch and Alan Splet

LP
No.TitleLength
1."Side 1"20:09
2."Side 2"18:26
Total length:38:35
7"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)"David Lynch, Peter Ivers1:36
2."Pete's Boogie" (previously unreleased) 3:58
Total length:5:34

References

  1. ^ a b Bulut, Selim (2017-03-21). "Revisiting Eraserhead's haunting, industrial soundtrack". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  2. ^ Carlson, Dean. "Eraserhead [Original Soundtrack] – David Lynch / Alan R. Splet". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  3. ^ Richardson, Mark (August 9, 2012). "David Lynch/Alan Splet - Eraserhead". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  4. ^ David Lynch & Alan R. Splet - Eraserhead Original Soundtrack, retrieved 2022-04-17
  5. ^ "Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack Recording, by David Lynch". David Lynch. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  6. ^ David Lynch & Alan R. Splet - Eraserhead Original Soundtrack, retrieved 2022-04-17
  7. ^ "Eraserhead: Original Soundtrack Recording". Sacred Bones Records. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  8. ^ "The City of Absurdity: The David Lynch Quote Collection". www.thecityofabsurdity.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  9. ^ "The City of Absurdity: David Lynch's Eraserhead". www.thecityofabsurdity.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  10. ^ David Lynch on Alan Splet, retrieved 2022-04-17
  11. ^ a b Woodward, Richard B. (2014-05-13). "Snapping, Humming, Buzzing, Banging: Remembering Alan Splet". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
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