One of the aspects about Lynch I enjoy is his use of sound (that is, sound as distinct from music).

Here are some examples which I find memorable and effective:

1) The slowed howl of Frank in BV ( the scene when the candle is blown out).
2) The high-pitched whine of the lamp in the hospital mortuary in TP pilot, which is quite similar to...
3) The high-pitched whine of the television in Dorothy's apartment at the end of BV.
4) The low rumble of the shield in Dune.
5) Pretty much all of the ambient sound in Eraserhead.
6) Sarah Palmer's scream at the end of TP pilot.

What do you like best?

in my opinion, FWWM has the most amazing sound in any film ever. i can't explain it in words, but there is this sound throughout it that i love. it is very prevalent in the convenience store scene and the theresa banks morgue scene. kind of a descending rumbling sound. also, there are parts in the film where you hear the LMFAP's voice ("and i sound like this...") in random parts in the movie. i also love the use of electricity sounds in all the films. other notable mentions are the enigmatic blowing of the mill in the tp pilot, and others i can't think of.

i am very much into the sound aspect of things myself and sometimes think that is the reason i like david lynch so much. but i know that isn't the reason. i would like the films probably all the same if they didn't have the amazing sound elements. 

I can't choose specifics, but the whole sounds from Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive are my fav' ever (not among Lynch movies, but among all movies I've ever seen).

I'd agree with ig0r that TP:FWWM has also an amazing soundtrack. However, I think it was just the beginning of what was coming with LH and MD.

Don't get me wrong, all previous Lynch movies are also brilliant, but I think that Lynch hadn't yet all the budget to achieve the perfection heard later.

Yeah, FWWM is fabulous especially what comes to e-lec-tri-ci-ty ("and I sound like this") but one of my favourite parts soundwise is the whole Winkey's scene in Mulholland Drive. Sure the handheld, just a little shaking camerawork is one of the excellent parts but actually the camera seems to be there to serve the sound's purpose, whereas often in films sound is there to serve the picture. Also the effect in the sound that comes when the bum appears from behind the corner is brilliant. 

Largely because of this scene MD is one of the scariest films I've ever seen.

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I agree with Skybaby...although the sound design for FWWM is amazing, I totally dig the sound design for Lost Highway (and the moments where silence is used so well...it does make it more harrowing and heightens the discord between Fred and Renee as we discovered just how strained their marriage is.

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To hear Lynch talk about sound check out the Dead Poets Society DVD. There is a bonus feature titled "Master of Sound: Alan Splet." David Lynch and Peter Weir talk about Alan Splet's work on Dead Poets Society (Alan was the Supervising Sound Editor for that film.) Lynch also talks about his first meeting with Alan and working with him on the sound in his own films.

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John Neff (and that Lynch guy) on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puLHKcwtH8k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxB_q6ZWG-Q

I'm not usually very perceptive about things like sound but it's one of my favourite things about DL's films. The Fred and Renee segment of Lost Highway is beautiful. Sonically it's very lush. It's like hearing things when I'm half asleep.

The use of sound (or lack of) in the scene behind Winkies is incredible. It sounds like a panic attack. The crash reminds me of Lost Highway and the jump from the house to Fred playing saxaphone in a club. It's very jarring.

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Talk about serendipity...

I have been mixing the sound for my current short film (Slamdance early deadline in 2 weeks, yikes!) and decided to take a short break and KABOOM! The clips for YouTube show up.

Sooooo, inspiring...gotta love those "Happy Accidents"...

 I am sooooo jealous John, that studio looks divine.  I'm sitting at my PC with Premiere and Audition...LOL

And this is absolutely brilliant, John... It gives me goosebumps everytime. This contrast is related to dynamic, which is a quality almost totally lost nowadays in music.

Dynamics, the very soul and nerve of music, is something that in the modern age of digital audio seems to be disappearing more and more. This is somewhat of a paradox; both digital formats and equipment have higher dynamic range than ever before. The technology is there to create music with pitch silent background, virtually no distortion and a dynamic range just as high as the one we enjoy in the concert hall. Still, what we get from CDs, especially modern pop recordings, is music that is massively compressed and also clipped, leading to distortion and loss of detail.

The Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive soundtracks (which includes a lot of SOUNDS and not only music) are big exceptions to this mass phenomenon and David and John have to be THANKED big time for that...

Yes an interesting thread...

The sound in Lynch movies is for me easily one of the biggest and most important factors...in fact, I'd even go as far as saying that Splet & Lynch have taken it to another realm...one that imo, other artists can only dream of...or poorly imitate.

Splet perhaps the greatest motion picture sound designer the world has ever seen.

One of my favourite Splet sounds at the moment (there are so many great ones...but I've been watching Dune on Blu-Ray and the DTS sound is immense) is the sound made by the 'thumper', for diverting/summoning worms...its crazy phat and makes the whole room shake...although god knows what I'm gonna do with all these worms in my lounge!!!

One other thing...does anyone happen to know why Splet stopped working on Lynch films after Blue Velvet...did he teach David everything he knew?  Also anyone lucky enough to own the 3 Cd set (many $$$$) of Splet's work????

"To hear Lynch talk about sound check out the Dead Poets Society DVD. There is a bonus feature titled "Master of Sound: Alan Splet." David Lynch and Peter Weir talk about Alan Splet's work on Dead Poets Society (Alan was the Supervising Sound Editor for that film.) Lynch also talks about his first meeting with Alan and working with him on the sound in his own films."

thanks for the heads up....and here they are!!!

Part1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU1VuLP9gNU

Part2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIIkrpR9qjc

Good question, I don't know why Lynch and Splet ended their cooperation after Blue Velvet. Actually I thought I knew but it turns out that I must have dreamt it or something because I cannot find it anywhere now... I had an idea in mind that Splet started having serious hearing problems, you know, like Beethoven ;-) I was convinced of that but I am not anymore!

Anyway, the thread is really good (very old it is!) and there are so many fabulous sound moments in Lynch movies. What you mentioned: the horrifying Blue Velvet sounds (and the worms underground!!!), the high-pitched screams like Laura Palmer or Sarah Palmer or Cooper at the mirror, the initial horrible silence in Fred's apartment, Lost Highway , the silence-big sound contrasts in Mulholland Drive, the industrial noises of Elephant Man.

But for me most of all...

I don't know . . . I kind of think that sometimes it is not only the matter of budget but also of the time to make every detail sound perfect - which I am saying because soundwise I find Eraserhead to be most astonishing. A film actually without music but for sound effects - my own private all-time Oscar! And the budget for that film was... we know what it was ;-) However, becuase of those budget problems they took a looong time shooting it and had both time and motivation to make that every detail perfect. Which it is :-)

And of course, it is absolutely the genius of ... 

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many thanks for the info John...I was just curious as to why the working relationship ended, but I understand where you're coming from.  Have to say that its great news that you are working with Ann and I look forward to the delights that you produce...I didn't know she was so heavily involved with those previous Lynch works.

I only brought this (old) thread up because I'm a 'nooby' and found it interesting for discussion purposes...well that and I wanted to put in my 2 cents (or pence if you prefer).

Got some great additional info from you John...so it was well worth it.