Fade to Black

With Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, David Lynch pioneered an avant-garde vision of Americana. And Main Street U.S.A. has never quite been the same

By Steve Garbarino

Illustration by Barry Blitt

His nasal Midwestern cadence, earnest mien, and silver pompadour were as recognizable as Alfred Hitchcock’s voice, chins, and silhouette.

David Lynch’s onyx-dark but bizarrely comedic films were so recognizable that he joined the pantheon of greats before him: Hitchcockian. Bergman-esque. Fellini-esque. Spielbergian. Lynchian.