Song of Philadelphia

We Are Like the Dreamer

In the Lynchadelphia finale, the season's guests and a few others share a personal David Lynch memory and reflect on how he and his work affected their life. Song of Philadelphia host Julien Suaudeau and his wife Anne Duchene join the chorus and provide conflicting accounts of the role one Lynch film in particular played in pulling them closer to each other. Stick around for the donut in the episode's outro: a Twin Peaks-inspired song by Suaudeau's band in the 1990's, "Ana Anyway".

Call Me If Anything Exciting Happens

Peggy Reavey married David Lynch in 1968. She is a painter and the mother of Jennifer Lynch. As she recalls her final years with Lynch in Philadelphia and their young family's move to California, a new image of the filmmaker and of his creative process comes into focus. "It was his thing, Reavey says, but I knew what it was." Listening to Reavey reflect on her contributions to The Grandmother, Lynch's third short film, and about how she was replaced by "a whole staff" as he started working on Eraserhead, we understand that each film comes from a bundle of dreams, experiences, people, and places that could not be ascribed to a single individual: the person known as the author always contains multitudes. How much of Lynch's life went into his films? What kind of agency did his loved ones hold as the original idea was sculpted into motion pictures and sounds? Why was the presence, the emotional support of a trusted partner so critical to the filmmaker's authorship, as he translated his vision into cinematic language? The episode art is a portrait of David Lynch by Peggy Reavey, c. 1970.

The Fear Is Inside Him

What if the fear that David Lynch said he found in Philadelphia came from another place, more emotional than physical?According to Peggy Reavey, who married Lynch in 1968 and is the mother of their daughter Jennifer, the young David arrived in the city with a baggage full of insecurities. The first part of a long interview with Reavey, this episode interlaces her memories with Jack Fisk's and soundscapes from the David Lynch universe, as we examine how Lynch projected his deepest terrors - of failing as a filmmaker, of not living the art life he knew he was meant for - on his living environment at the time. Artwork: Peggy Reavey and David Lynch outside the home of Reavey's parents in Philadelphia, c. 1968 (photo by Bernard V. Lentz)

When the Robins Come

David Lynch often identified Philadelphia as his greatest influence, and Philadelphia has nothing but love for David Lynch. What are the Lynchian places and happenings in the city? In this episode, Eric Bresler talks about bringing the Lady in the Radiator and Sherilyn Fenn to PhilaMOCA. Dennis McNett explains how he created the Lynch mural-memorial on Buttonwood Street. Josh Hitchens, the last Philadelphian who ever interviewed David Lynch, recalls his feelings before, during, and after the phone call. Jack Fisk remembers searching for filming locations across the city with Lynch fifteen years ago and his friend's disappointment as Lynch realized the Philadelphia he'd experienced from 1965 to 1970 no longer existed.

Fuck You, Gordon

Although Philadelphia is visible only in a couple of shots in the entire David Lynch's filmography, the city's aura is the primary color and the thread of the cinematic language we have come to recognize as "Lynchian". In this episode, Julien Suaudeau dives deeper into the David Lynch dreamworld and examines the wild ways in which Philly manifests itself in Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, and the Twin Peaks universe. What if Lynch's reinvention of the city actually was the artist's "room to dream"? An MRI of his creative mind? And maybe the place where we find out that life is but a dream? The episode contains audio from the following works: Laura, Sunset Boulevard, Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and Twin Peaks: The Return. Artwork: Diane - screen capture of Twin Peaks: The Return