Julee Cruise — Floating into the Night
Most people who came to Julee Cruise, came through Twin Peaks, I am no different. Floating into the Night is a triumph of dream pop unlike any you’ve ever heard.
The late Julee Cruise was born in Iowa in 1956. She went on to study french horn at Drake University before going on to star in stage productions, off broadway for the most part. During this time she met Angelo Badalamenti. Later in life, Badalamenti would be composing the score for David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet. When the production couldn’t obtain the rights to a song sung by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, Badalamenti suggested Cruise to Lynch. It was here their three way collaboration began and from here her career launched. The music was written by Badalamenti, the lyrics by Lynch and the vocals were all Cruise. After completing work on Blue Velvet, the two writers created other songs for Cruise which would begin to form her debut: Floating into the Night. Recorded in New York City’s Excalibur Sound studio in early 1989 the album received its most harsh criticism from Cruise herself. She was worried she would become a novelty act when people didn’t seem to understand the album. Nevertheless, the album released in September of the same year and was met with critical acclaim. The album produced two singles, with the most known being “Falling” which appeared in the show Twin Peaks in instrumental form as the opening credits. The album peaked at no. 74 on the Billboard charts.
This brought me back. Not very far mind you, but back to when I first got into Twin Peaks. Kicking off with the sultry jazz of “Floating” we get our first taste of the avant garde absurdism this album embodies. Cruise’s vocals swoon and sizzle, while the lyrics are very Lynchian… This leads into “Falling.” It is impossible for me to separate this from being the Twin Peaks theme song, but on its own it is a beautiful piece of music. The deep bass line and the eventual layered vocals of Cruise mesh so well to display both the light and dark sides of falling in love. “I Remember” is one of the weaker songs on the album, with its most notable attribute being some fun scat at the tail end. “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” was my favorite rediscovery on this spin. I was transported back to the scene from Twin Peaks this song is used in and could see Lara Flynn Boyle mouthing the words to James Marshall at the Roadhouse bar. The snaps and more jaunty tempo of this song with the sparse islander guitar strums casts a relaxing spell over the listener. Cruise is at her most poppy here and meshes well into the eden-eque vision of the piece. “Mysteries of Love” closes Side A, and is the song Cruise sang for Blue Velvet. Without this song we would not have this album. The track is more Enya than Cocteau Twins, but is still striking in its beauty. “Into the Night” is the exact flip-side of the prior song. Badalamenti’s pensive organ and piano keys bring us along on a dark night as Cruise seems to sing from beyond a dream. If you are planning to sit back and sink away while listening to this song, be forewarned, there is a loud mini crescendo to shake you from your reverie. The album ends with the indomitable “The World Spins.” I hope if there is an afterlife, Julee Cruise is singing this song to a sea of caring faces. This song is again featured in Twin Peaks and is used in my favorite episode of the show, during the greatest scene, so to say I have bias would be underselling it. Again using the bass line from “Falling” but tuned down a step, this song brings narrative closure to the album. A song about the ebbs and flows of life, the minutiae of everyday occurrences through the lens of longing for love. In the end, your pleas for love and belonging mean nothing to the universe, the world still spins.
Must Listen To: The World Spins
For DMCA reasons, I cannot find the video of this song during episode 2x07 of Twin Peaks. However, imagining it and the corresponding scenes is enough to give me chills, every time.
