The 10 Best Twin Peaks References in Music

Twin Peaks, one of the most beloved TV shows in history, was canceled too soon. It was groundbreaking, surreal, and packed with style. It not only influenced countless shows and movies, it also influenced a large handful of musicians, too. It's been around 25 years since the show premiered, and musicians continue to pay tribute even today.

Today, with the release of new footage on blu-ray, we finally get to see the mythological deleted scenes from Lynch's masterpiece, Fire Walk With Me. The film was misunderstood upon release, and it wasn't all that surprising considering it was fairly hard to piece together without close inspection of both the series and movie. But now, we can make sense of it thanks to 90 minutes worth of deleted scenes, expanding upon the sequel and prequel elements explored in the feature film.

With all the excitement surrounding today's release with new footage, we decided to take a look at some of the best references to Twin Peaks in music. No, we didn't consider Moby's "Go," even if it is the most famous use of Lynch's series in music; and no, we didn't include Bastille's "Laura Palmer" because Dan Smith has silly hair. What we did include, however, is 10 great examples of paying tribute to the wonderful show.

From the silly, to the passionate, we've got it all. Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song... and there's always music in the air.

Buy Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery, out today, here.

Reference: "Watching Twin Peaks, bitch, look I'm Laura Palmer."

Sure, why not?

Reference: The track is a cover of Twin Peaks character James Hurley's infamous "Just You."

It was one of the cheesiest moments of the series, but James Hurley's "Just You" is still a memorable part of the show, and a pretty neat song, too. It's ripe for covering, so it's only natural that a surf-pop indebted indie act would tackle it. The Icypoles' version might not have the awkward charm of the original, but it does have heart.

(Note: this version is key corrected, but it's the only version on Youtube with the Bob scene!)

Reference: The title, obviously.

Surfer Blood's first album was full of some great surf rock anthems, but "Twin Peaks" was perhaps its most obtuse. It's got an atmosphere that rivals the weirdness of the show, with lead vocalist John Paul Pitts altering his delivery to match the strange change in tone. It's not the slyest of references, with an outright shout out to David Lynch included in its lyrics, but it makes for a damn fine song nonetheless.

Reference: "It is happening again... it is happening again"

DJ Shadow's legendary Endtroducing... is made almost entirely with samples, so Twin Peaks almost had to show up at some point during its 60-minute-plus running time. However, the sample doesn't appear until the very end of the album, and Shadow opts to close out the record by sampling arguably the scariest TV moment of all time. The moment where the killer of Laura Palmer is revealed sticks with anyone that watches it, just as Endtroducing... sticks with anyone that listens to it.

Reference: "You punks owe me ten grand! Leo needs a new pair of shoes!"

In season 1 of Twin Peaks, Leo was a threatening menace. He had his hands in drug distribution, murder, and possibly Laura Palmer's death. He also beat his wife, Shelly Johnson, so he wasn't the nicest of guys. He did, however, have a pretty impressive screen presence. Even when he was (*SPOILERS*) wheel-chair bound in the second season, he was still incredibly intimidating. One of his most famous lines led to the discovery of cocaine, albeit in a predictably clumsy fashion by Deputy Andy Brennan.

Of course, Ben Frost's "Leo Needs a New Pair of Shoes" only really references the Twin Peaks character in its title. The background behind the reference isn't necessary for enjoying the track, but it does possess an undeniably Lynch-like quality in its earthy atmosphere.

Reference: Samples the falling in space scene from Fire Walk With Me.

EL-P is a pretty outspoken fan of Lynch, so the fact that he sampled one of Fire Walk With Me's most memorable scenes isn't much of a surprise. The sample kicks off his second solo album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, in a suitably moody fashion. The epic and sprawling "Tasmanian Pain Coaster" lends itself well to Lynchian atmospherics, and the grandly pessimistic tone of the quote does a lot to set the tone of the whole record.

Reference: The insinuation that it would've soundtracked the season 3 premiere

Stars of the Lid decided to forego just referencing their favorite TV show, in place making music for an episode of the show that doesn't exist. Episode 29 is the final episode of Twin Peaks, and it ended on a hell of a cliffhanger. Stars of the Lid, like many of us, imagined what Twin Peaks would've been like had it not been canceled. Unlike many of us, however, they imagined it through sound.

The results are mesmerizing, bringing to mind brilliantly captured shots of the serene Pacific Northwest. It says a lot, despite how minimal it is. It's one of the more subtle musical tributes to Lynch's masterpiece, but it's every bit in spirit of the show.

Reference: Named after a line spoken by Laura Palmer in Fire Walk With Me, interpolates numerous quotes from the same scene into the lyrics

The title track of Sky Ferreira's debut album borrows its name from a short line Laura Palmer mutters in the film, Fire Walk With Me. The track is suitably Twin Peaks-indebted too, with a heady atmosphere that would be right at home played in The Road House, Twin Peaks' go-to bar.

The lyrics also ask the same question that Donna Hayward asks in the same scene, "Falling in space, will I slow down? Or go faster and faster?" Sky answers it roughly the same way Laura does, "I wouldn't feel anything / When we burst into dust forever / And no angels will help us out / 'Cause they've all gone away."

Reference: Interpolates elements of Angelo Badalamenti's "Love Theme from Twin Peaks."

Phil Elverum's work has always carried a Twin Peaks-like quality, but his fourth full-length as Mount Eerie took it a step further. Not only does "Between Two Mysteries" include Phil softly singing, "The town rests in the valley beneath Twin Peaks, buried in space," it also includes elements of Angelo Badalamenti's "Love Theme." It's quite possibly the most recognisable piece of music from Twin Peaks, which is saying a lot considering how highly revered the entire soundtrack is.

It's without a doubt the best reference to Twin Peaks in music, mostly because it doesn't feel out of place despite both referencing and using the music from Twin Peaks. Phil himself is from the Pacific Northwest, which is where the show was filmed and set. It just seems logical, as if Phil had boldly incorporated something his music had been hinting at all this time.