1

Not So Quiet Desperation: Sound in Eraserhead

David Lynch is a normal man with a bizarre vision. A director in the same vein as Luis
Buuel and !ederico !ellini" Lynch ma#es movies o$ dense and dar# surrealism. %is later $ilms
such as Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet have led some" such as $ilm critic &auline 'ael" to
(ive him the title o$ $irst popular surrealist )Lynch *i+. %owever" a decade be$ore Dennis %opper
too# hits o$ nitrous o*ide and dran# &abst Blue ,ibbon as !ran# in Blue Velvet" Lynch created
his debut $eature $ilm" Eraserhead, a bold thesis statement $or the rest o$ his career" distillin( all
o$ the disturbin( stran(eness" the hallucinatory tan(ents" the hard to understand plots that have
come to be Lynch-s si(nature into ninety minutes.
Sayin( Eraserhead has a plot is somewhat disin(enuous. .hin(s happen but there isn-t
much o$ an overarchin( story. %enry Spencer lives in an industrial wasteland. /ne day" he visits
his (irl$riend and her parents $or dinner and learns that he has a child. .he baby is actually
incredibly de$ormed. 0t will not eat or stop cryin(. %is (irl$riend leaves 1uic#ly because the baby
is unbearably obno*ious. %enry may or may not have se* with his nei(hbor. 2ventually" %enry
viciously stabs the baby to death and then disappears into a white li(ht" embracin( the de$ormed
character only #nown as .he Lady in the ,adiator. 0$ the description sounds dis3ointed" it is
because the movie itsel$ is dis3ointed. .here is rarely a clear causation in the $ilm. Somethin(
happens and then somethin( else happens. .o hi(hli(ht this dis3ointedness" there are many
surreal diversions $rom the plot involvin( visions o$ a celestial deity pullin( levers" trips into the
radiator where a woman sin(s and dances li#e an aw#ward vaudeville per$ormer" and a
particularly lon( se1uence where %enry-s head is removed $rom his body and is turned into
pencil erasers in a $actory. 4learly" Eraserhead is not a movie about a plot but rather about a
$eelin(.
5
/verall" the $eelin( o$ the movie is an overwhelmin( sense o$ isolation and emotional
disconnection as well as the $eelin( o$ bein( oppressed by the world and losin( control.
.hrou(hout the movie" %enry does not attempt to in$luence anythin( in the world until the very
end where is essentially $orced to #ill the baby. %e is constantly under the control o$ his
environment and other people. %enry does not connect with real people. %is relationship with his
(irl$riend is not e*plored in any romantic way. .he movie ma#es it seem li#e they are 3ust
to(ether $or no particular reason. .he only human connection %enry has in the entire $ilm is with
the Lady in the ,adiator who is most li#ely a creation o$ %enry-s own deran(ed emotional state.
/ne way Lynch en$orces this $eelin( is throu(h the sound desi(n. /ppressive" unnervin(" and
relentless" sound in Eraserhead is a character all its own.
/ne o$ the most interestin( thin(s about the sound o$ Eraserhead is the underscore.
Actually" a better way to describe it is a lac# thereo$. Eraserhead has somethin( resemblin( a
score i$ one e*pands their de$inition o$ music. .here is never a line drawn between underscore
and atmospheric sounds. .he constant hums" the rattlin(" abrasive" industrial sounds" and the
(eneral noise all combine to $orm somethin( resemblin( ambient music. .here was even a
soundtrac# album release o$ it that is essentially 67 minutes o$ dar#" industrial ambient music
and 8 minutes o$ .he Lady in the ,adiator-s 90n %eaven:. Althou(h not really part o$ any (enre
or style o$ music o$ the time" the pseudo;score relates most stron(ly to the musi1ue concr<te
movement. =usi1ue concr<te is a proto;ambient (enre that manipulates sounds recorded $rom
the world and non;musical sounds into somethin( resemblin( music. .a#in( musi1ue concr<te to
an e*treme" Eraserhead-s score lac#s reco(nizable $orm" rhythm" meter" melody" harmony" and
anythin( else conservative de$initions o$ music include. %owever" $or sa#e o$ discussion" 0 will
continue to call the bac#(round noise o$ Eraserhead a score.
6
Some may wonder why Lynch would even have a score i$ it is (oin( to be as obscure and
abstract as it is. %owever" as pro(ressive as the score is" it still serves two o$ the purposes o$
scores accordin( to the now;conservative writin(s o$ Aaron 4opland. 0n 4opland-s What to
Listen for in Music" the composer o$ many (reat standalone pieces o$ music and some $ilm
scores" describes $ive services an underscore provides to a $ilm. .he two relevant to Eraserhead-s
score are one and two on his list: 94reatin( a more convincin( atmosphere o$ time and place:
and 9>nderlinin( psycholo(ical re$inements ? the unspo#en thou(hts o$ a character: )4opland
5@7+. ,e(ardin( the $irst one" the score is nothin( but an atmosphere o$ a place. .he relentless
drones and hisses and industrial sounds never let the viewer $or(et that %enry lives in a desolate
industrial wasteland. 2ven in his dreams and surreal tan(ents" the soundtrac#;score #eeps the
viewer in %enry-s livin( space.
!or 4opland-s second item" the score serves the purpose o$ oppression. Ahen the score
$or Eraserhead is described as relentless" it is truly that. At no point in the $ilm-s B7 minute
runtime does the score ever let up. .here is constant" i$ occasionally low;level" irritatin( hum in
Eraserhead. 0t allows the viewer to be put into the mind o$ %enry" who never really voices his
despair or any other emotion $or that matter. .he viewer is sub3ected to an oppressive" relentless
hum similar to %enry-s oppressive state in li$e" where thin(s happen to him $or no reason and no
one is there to help him" ma#in( %enry a sympathetic character. Nothin( is presented in the
dialo(ue to ma#e the viewer particularly care about %enryC the audience cares because they are
ri(ht with him. .he ti(htlipped director even admittin( to usin( room tones $or both purposes in
the interviews in Lynch on LynchC re(ardin( the room tone and atmospheric sounds in the movie"
Lynch divul(es" 9in this seemin(ly #ind o$ 1uiet sound" some $eelin(s can be brou(ht in" and a
certain #ind o$ picture o$ a bi((er can be made: )Lynch D6+. Althou(h Lynch does not o$ten
8
con$irm or deny anythin( about any o$ his movies" he admits to his aural intentions re(ardin(
this one part o$ Eraserhead.
0n his essay 9Dense 4larity" 4lear Density": Aalter =urch sets $orth a use$ul color
spectrum o$ sound to de$ine di$$erent sound layers. .he color;sound spectrum distin(uishes
between sounds that mean somethin( by themselves" embodied sounds" and sounds that have to
be decoded by conte*tually understandin(" encoded sounds )=urch+. 0n his description"
embodied sounds are red and are (enerally underscore or music in (eneral and encoded sounds
are violet. 2verythin( else are 3ust di$$erent colors o$ the rainbow.
.o $urther analyze the sound desi(n o$ Eraserhead" particular scenes should be loo#ed at
in depth" usin( =urch-s outline when applicable. .he $irst scene 0 will e*amine is a $our minute
scene $rom appro*imately eleven minutes into the $ilm. %enry wal#s into his barren apartment"
sets some (roceries down on a table" turns on some or(an music" dries his soc# on the radiator"
and (azes at a picture o$ the woman in his li$e. At the base o$ the sound o$ the scene is the score.
=urch himsel$ mentions the score in 9Dense 4larity" 4lear Density:" describin( it as an oran(e
sound )=urch+. .o understand the sound entirely" one has to have an understandin( o$ what an
industrial area would sound li#eC there$ore" it needs a conte*t. 0t needs to be decoded throu(h the
lens o$ industry. %owever" there are parts o$ the score that are more purely embodied than
=urch-s understandin(. .he relentless dronin( and scrapin( would ma#e anyone" anywhere" in
any time period" uncom$ortable. .here$ore" the score is somewhere between oran(e and red"
never drawin( a clear line between 9musical e$$ects: as =urch describes them and music
)=urch+. .he score in this scene retains the atmosphere o$ the place very well" ma#in( sure the
viewer never $or(ets %enry-s apartment is in a bad part o$ town.
/ne other thin( worth mentionin( about the atmosphere layer o$ the soundtrac#: althou(h
7
the listener hears the sounds o$ the city clearly" at no point do they hear anythin( representin( the
li$e o$ the city. 4ar horns" people shoutin(" (eneral drivin( sounds are all absent. .he absence o$
this particular aspect o$ city sounds must be viewed as intentional. By minimizin( the amount o$
li$e in this world" %enry is $urther isolated emotionally and physically. .he intentional lac# o$
city li$e sounds e$$ectively ma#es the viewer $eel very alone as there are essentially only a
hand$ul o$ people in this world.
.he ne*t layer o$ sound is a piece o$ dia(etic music" 9Stompin .he Bu(: by !ats Aaller.
%enry plays the son( on his phono(raph. /n =urch-s color spectrum" this layer would be a pure
red. Bein( solely music" all meanin( is present and universal without needin( any conte*t.
Aithin the movie" the dia(etic music represents %enry tryin( to distract himsel$ and escape $rom
the wasteland and misery o$ his li$e. Lynch uses dia(etic music very sparin(ly throu(hout this
movieC the only other times it occurs is within dream se1uences. .here$ore" dia(etic music comes
to be associated with the relatively peace$ul dream se1uences and relie$. %owever" in this scene"
the dia(etic music is almost drowned out by the atmosphere and score representin( that %enry-s
1uest $or peace is ultimately $utile within the real world.
.he last ma3or layer o$ sound is the sound e$$ects. .his layer includes #eys bein( thrown"
(roceries bein( set down" the needle bein( put down on a record" a li(htswitch bein( $lipped on"
a wet soc# bein( set down on a radiator to dry" and various shu$$lin( sounds. All o$ these would
be considered blue;(reen sounds" lin(uistic sounds" usin( =urch-s color;sound scale. Aith the
e*ception o$ the soc#" they are all conventional e$$ects. %owever" the volume o$ the hiss o$ the
dryin( soc# #eeps (oin( up until it becomes part o$ the oran(e;red score" becomin( a disturbin(
part o$ the environment.
.here are scenes where the di$$erent layers are traded out $or other layers but the sound
E
remains relatively simple throu(hout. .he scenes with dialo(ue (enerally don-t have dia(etic
music or the drone o$ the score becomes less pervasive. %owever" Lynch and his sound desi(ner
Alan Splet #now to #eep thin(s simple. Because o$ the drone and ambi(uity o$ color o$ the score"
too many layers would ma#e the entire mi* 3ust become muddyC also" a mi* that is too active
would ta#e away $rom the thematic isolation o$ the $ilm. Lynch and Splet success$ully rein$orce
and create an atmosphere o$ isolation and emotional desperation in Eraserhead throu(h the
intentionally basic sound desi(n.
Aor#s 4ited
4opland" Aaron. What to Listen for in Music. New For#: =cGraw;%ill" 1H6H. &rint.
Lynch" David and 4hris ,odley. Lynch on Lynch. 5
nd
edition. New For#: !aber and !aber" 5@@7.
&rint.
=urch" Aalter. 9Dense 4larity" 4lear Density.: Transom. Atlantic &ublic =edia. n.d. Aeb. 1D
April 5@16.