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‘Eraserhead’ Deluxe Soundtrack Available Today

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This one slipped by me until earlier today, so I wanted to share it right away. Sacred Bones Records has released a deluxe edition of the soundtrack to David Lynch’s 1977 bizarre body horror film Eraserhead. While the vinyl edition is sold out, you can still order the CD, which comes with a 16 page booklet and a double sided poster in a gatefold CD sleeve, or snag a digital copy via iTunes. Orders can be taken here.

The label writes:

David Lynch’s Eraserhead rests firmly at the top of that canon of American underground culture for which there is no genre. A staple of the dark underbelly of popular cinema that was originally only viewable at arthouse screenings or on the Midnight Movie circuit, Eraserhead is a truly unadulterated offering; and much of its sensation lies beyond the purely visual realm. The stark, dusty black and white images put forth are caked with and submerged in a dense jungle of industrial hums, buzzes, screeches and screams. Eraserhead is a narrative made up of two intertwined veins: one of bleak and beautiful pictures elegantly painted in gray and black; and one of blankets of sublime, enveloping noise and static, the tinkering of Fats Waller organ rolls echoing in the background.

To lay in the dark and listen to this dizzying succession of blissful noise is a different way to get “lost” in the vast space of then the visuals of the film itself. It’s no stretch to consider this soundtrack an experimental, early industrial masterpiece. Eraserhead’s individual passion and personal tone shines through even in the thickest moments of fierce static, an audio undertaking that took Lynch and sound designer Alan Splet years to perfect. Though Eraserhead’s most famous piece of music is undoubtedly Peter Ivers’ unforgettable, oft-covered haunting ballad “In Heaven,” and the most exciting attribute of this edition of the soundtrack is no doubt its expansion; during the process of transferring the audio tapes, an unreleased recording from Ivers was discovered. It had not been heard since it was originally performed, over three decades ago. After working for years to expose and foster the dark, brooding sounds that exist in the current underground, nothing could make us more proud than to share with our audience this, a new look at one of our most cherished influences; the soundtrack to David Lynch’s Eraserhead.

Head below to listen to the film’s haunting version of “In Heaven”, which has since became an oft-covered track by many bands.

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

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John Carpenter music

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…

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