David Lynch

Anyone who has seen Mulholland Drive or Twin Peaks knows that the celebrated filmmaker and TV director has a signature surrealist style that draws heavily on dreamlike imagery. His fans also know that music plays a major role in his work. “Sound is almost like a drug,” says the 67-year-old auteur. “It’s so pure that when it goes in your ears, it instantly does something to you.” Think of the effect of Isabella Rossellini singing Bobby Vinton’s sensuous song in Blue Velvet or Nicolas Cage crooning Elvis Presley’s “Love Me” in Wild at Heart. The Lynchian style has influenced the singer Lana Del Rey and bands like Canada’s You Say Party and England’s Bastille, both of which have released songs about Laura Palmer, the teen victim at the heart of Twin Peaks. Lynch, a true renaissance man (he’s also a painter and furniture designer), plays guitar and sings and has just released his second CD. Not surprisingly, both albums are highly cinematic—and dreamlike.

Crazy Clown Time (2011) Strange and occasionally unsettling electro-pop collection that includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ vocalist Karen O on “Pinky’s Dream.”

The Big Dream (2013) Weird and wonderfully moody blues numbers, featuring a Bob Dylan cover and Sweden’s Lykke Li on the chilling “I’m Waiting Here.”