David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time
Are you laughing or are you crying?
Armed with a killer costume for tonight’s Halloween festivities, I was in search of the perfect soundtrack to fill my head with spooky images and sound effects to make my hair stand on edge. Who other than David Lynch to turn to, when filled with that strange, almost sadistic desire for images that transport you into a world of the dodgiest environments and the most indescribable feelings. While Todd Solondz’ films call for solitary depression with its brutal portal of human relationships, Lynch somehow manages to let humour and innocent absurdity shimmer through his obscure images.It is exactly this anonymous consciousness snaking out of the speakers and into the room with Crazy Clown Time . If watching It made you feel funny as a kid, I dare not say what kind of trauma’s will resurface in you when envisioning the stories told to you by a childlike Lynchian voice, illustrated for you through song.
Crazy Town Time is a mixture of feelings once explored in his films and new experiences, dreams and visions merging into one. ‘Imaginary Girl’, may remind us of the infamous catch phrase, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” , in the sense that it gently sways back and forth between purity of this girl and the bestiality of the singers desire. His voice mysterious, the accompanying music filled with familiar hints of jazz.
With ‘Ghost of Love’ I believe David was trying to reveal the ambiguity of love and everything around it through distorted sounds and a dulling yet excitable beat.
‘Pinky’s Dream’ with Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s on vocals, is a chaotically clear journey of the kind you would expect when two masterminds like Lynch and O put their heads together. With a tempo suitable for Pulp Fiction-esque surroundings it the listener is immediately absorbed in the story of Pinky’s Dream. Karen O’s moaning in the background over her hoarse and haunting vocals release an unknown urge inside, one we might want to pursue but don’t know how. In it’s darkness this song emerges with a positive light only Lynch would know to manipulate.
With ‘Good Day’, Lynch finally allows us a little insight into the optimistic side of his character. A funky electro beat takes us away from the familiar tones of his music and sends us into completely undiscovered Lynchian world. Good Day is an uplifting track that might find its way into the dance world some fine day and his high pitch voice surely tickles our sense of humour. Imagine Gordon Cole on helium and you might understand what ‘Good Day’ is all about.
‘I Know’ brings us right back to the original twistedness of Lynch’s lyrical and musical genius, the guitars definitely being the most hypnotizing and addictive elements of the song. Moving back and forth between the bleak and the sanguine, it leaves you in a limbo of indecisiveness, casting a shadow on your sense of direction. If you are ever suffering from weltschmerz, this should be the song to use as your soundtrack.
‘Crazy Clown Time’ is like a dark scene unfolding infront of your eyes. As is typical for David, he is always looking to experiment with interesting sounds, voices and reverberations. The story of the song is told by a juvenile sounding Lynch and the imagery he describes could be taken out of South Park or straight out of the mouth of some ramblings lunatic. The woman’s horny yet slightly frantic moans are sexy as much as they are frightening.
‘Speed Roadster’ may not be the cliché song you would listen to after a painful break up, but it will definitely go on my top ten list of songs to listen to when there is no place else to dispose of your anger. Although the music isn’t at all aggressive, the lyrics speak for themselves, venting thoughts that are better left unspoken even if we have all shared the same thought before. The intro contains similarities to Mad Season’s Above but while Layne Staley scrutinized an addicts mentality, Lynch questions every single aspect of human trials and tribulations. Speed Roadster is the kind of song you would imagine the Bunny Boilers of this world to live by. Stalkerish tendencies, excruciating possessiveness and the wishes of ill to another, ‘Maybe you’re happy/But I hope you’re sad’.
It is difficult to say that Crazy Clown Time is exactly what you would expect from Lynch, because although once you’ve listened to it you’ll think it’s classic Lynch, you never really do know what to expect from him. In all these years he has never lost the element of surprise; not as a director, musician or painter. Although Crazy Clown Time never strays from its Lynchian flair, this album is packed with unforeseen details and comical aspects forever pulling us into the force of one crazy, beautiful mind.