DavidLynch.com
RottenPop Revisits the works of David Lynch
In 2002, David Lynch launched a streaming service long before any of these big players like Netflix or even YouTube were doing it. Subscribers had access to exclusive new series and short films directly from Lynch. This kind of ingenuity allowed dedicated fans to get an up-close and personal connection with one of their favorite filmmakers, even making them feel as if they were truly making a difference and supporting a genuine artist. And they were. This was all 100% Lynch.
When you signed up, you were greeted by Lynch himself, thanking you for being a part of DavidLynch.com. The first of his projects you would have seen would likely be the sunset project, or his Intervalometer Experiments, which explored color and light. All of them ran just a few minutes: a time-lapse of a sunset over some trees, and that was it, no soundtrack. These experiments weren’t solely focused on color; sometimes they featured a time-lapse of an Agave growing, or a static shot of a corner of a room. The simple, serene, subtly sinister Ball of Bees short, a literal ball of bees buzzing and crawling all over each other, was an experiment in sound, with the bees emitting electric-like sounds.
Then there was the bizarre and wildly vivid Pierre and Sonny Jim, a project that feels a lot like it's tapping into the Eraserhead realm. These are two inflated rubber gloves that are given sentience and life, complete with faces and clothes. Both appear to be in agony, with wails and whining, much like the baby in that film. Perhaps they were confused about their station in life.
These all may seem like inane short clips from a madman's psyche, but there is always a deeper meaning and understanding at play. This rings true even for his collaborations with visual artist Etsuko Shikata for a few videos. While some of these might fit into Inland Empire, they often have almost nothing to do with the main narrative and seem vestigial at best. One segment, Darkened Room, stands out in my mind as being particularly intriguing. It features a young girl (Cerina Vincent), depressed and sobbing in a room shut off from outside light, shielded by blankets over the windows. Another girl, played by Jordan Ladd, then enters and just starts running the crying girl down about something we don't have context for.
On top of all this content, subscribers also had access to his series Dumbland, Rabbits, and The Cannes Diary. He used the platform to showcase his other artwork as well: photography, paintings, and sculptures. Sometimes he’d even document large projects, like the three-part series entitled Water Circus or the six-part series documenting his creation of a lamp.
He would post various clips of himself speaking at conventions and events, alongside numerous interviews. He also ran contests and giveaways, including deeply personal segments where he answered fan questions. A major highlight was the Lunch with Lynch contest, which allowed a lucky subscriber to have lunch with him at his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles, Bob’s Big Boy. This experience was also filmed and streamed on the site.
Then we had these segments called David Lynch’s Weather Reports, something Lynch would revisit in his later years on his YouTube channel. These shorts featured David Lynch giving a daily greeting that included a weather outlook for Los Angeles on that day. It was such a charming and quaint little bit of content that spoke volumes about what kind of man David Lynch was. Sometimes watching these segments can make me a little teary-eyed. His positive outlooks, even in these small moments, always resonated.
The site had also been home to many Easter egg videos that were tied to his films and series. Videos like the Eraserhead DVD Easter Egg and The Laura Palmer Easter Egg are two great examples. Both don’t give much insight or uncover any unexplored territory, but instead, they just work as a bumper, almost, to keep the property fresh in your mind. The Laura Palmer Easter Egg, for example, features Sheryl Lee just sitting there in front of the camera. That’s it. She doesn’t move, say anything, or emote. It’s just music and Laura. It’s a glorified photo. But that was enough to keep people invested.
However, with the production of his film Inland Empire taking focus in mid-2005 and its launch in 2006, Lynch's direct involvement with the website's regular content creation would eventually wane. While DavidLynch.com continued to host much of his work for years, a portion of this unique digital archive would later find its way to other platforms, including his popular YouTube channel, launched much later.
This kind of thing is so truly inspirational. David Lynch was ahead of everyone else. Just look at the content that he was producing at this time. It’s pretty exceptional when you look at everyone else in Hollywood between 2002 and 2005. He wasn't just making strange films; he was pioneering a new frontier of digital content, bypassing traditional gatekeepers and creating a direct line to his audience. Not everything on here is a masterpiece. A lot of it’s going to be very interpretational, but what has been archived on Archive.org and David Lynch Theater is definitely worth a watch if you are a hardcore fan. Or just go back and check out Rabbits, Darkened Room, etc. if you are a casual.
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