Strange news arrives in the inbox of The Quietus this morning. It seems that David Lynch, Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse are collaborating on a "project that will be so much more than an album".
All that we can reveal now is that the project — which may or may not feature the veteran film director singing — also includes the talents of The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys from The Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle (ex of Granddaddy), Julian Casablancas, Black Francis, Iggy Pop, James Mercer of Shins, Nina Persson and Suzanne Vega.
We’ve been told that that more info will be released in dribs and drabs over the coming months but he would neither confirm or deny the suggestion that the director might be singing or rapping on the project.
This is not as wild a suggestion as it might seem. The director has long had ties in the world of pop/alternative music: as well as using the likes of Marilyn Manson, Rammstein and Trent Reznor on the soundtrack of Lost Highway, Lynch’s own musical activities have included writing many of Julie Cruise’s lyrics and releasing his own wigged out guitar album (in collaboration with John Neff, his regular sound engineer), Bluebob. More recently, the bequiffed auteur and exponent of trancendental meditation sang a number during his last film Inland Empire.
Although the inclusion of Sparklehorse in the project in fact perhaps signals that Lynch will be strapping on an acoustic and singing a dour ballad about the maudlin dudgeon he has endured since the death of his dog.
Either way, Lynch will be in charge of visuals on the project.
A holding site, www.dnots.com, has been set up but currently contains no information.
David Lynch is no stranger to guest appearances and strange collaborations. He’s renowned for using and re-using actors such as Jack Nance and Laura Dern, and having them pop up in the least likely places. But he also has a knack for picking unlikely — but highly successful — celebrity guests like Billy Zane and Chris Isaak. Often our background knowledge of the celebrity only adds to their surreal powers onscreen; or, in the case of Robert Blake, the true weirdness of the cameo unfolds much later.
There are too many Lynch cameos to count but here are 10 of our favorites:
