Nine Inch Nails Wrote “She’s Gone Away” for Twin Peaks After David Lynch Rejected First Composition

Anyone who’s watched the new season of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks will guess that Lynch has a penchant for darkness. Watchers will also be familiar with the one piece of formula that each episode adheres to: a live performance at or near the end. All sorts of bands have taken the stage at the Roadhouse, including Lynch’s own son and his group, Trouble. Apparently Nine Inch Nails didn’t go far enough with their initial pitch to Lynch. The group revealed in an interview with Chicago’s 101WKQX that they presented a song before “She’s Gone Away,” that Lynch rejected, saying it was not nearly “ugly” or “aggressive” enough.

“We wrote a different song initially, and [Lynch] said, ‘How about something less “Twin Peaks”-y sounding, and more aggressive and ugly,’” Trent Reznor said.

Lynch wanted the group to “make my hair stand on end,” a tall order for someone who thought up The Black Lodge. Lynch however accepted their replacement, “She’s Gone Away,” which the band wrote specifically for Twin Peaks. Trent Reznor and David Lynch have shared a professional relationship since Reznor scored Lynch’s Lost Highway, and it’s safe to say the artists share an understanding of the darkness that Lynch always seems to be reaching for.

The song, “She’s Gone Away,” sounds like a vast echo from the underworld. Heavy processional drumming, focusing on the snare and floor-tom, provides the backbone for a song that sounds like it was recorded inside of an oil barrel. Weird patterns of projected light cover the band as Reznor squeezes out the song’s lyrics with a pained, evil expression. Wearing black aviators, a leather jacket and gloves, Reznor looks like a caricature of someone who’s supposed to be scary. The scene involving Nine Inch Nails culminates into a shot of the evil Agent Cooper, waking up from what the audience had been lead to believe was his death. As if, the song took place within the darkness inside of this Cooper doppelgänger, it ends just as he wakes up.

Nine Inch Nails released their EP, Add Violence, in July, which leaves two more releases to go in their planned trilogy.

Photography Credit: Raymond Flotat