My friend David Lynch

Written by Ariana Morgenstern
KCRW Music department executive producer Ariana Morgenstern and David Lynch at one of his frequent visits to the station over the years.

KCRW Music department executive producer Ariana Morgenstern and David Lynch at one of his frequent visits to the station over the years. Photo by Larry Hirshowitz for KCRW.

I remember you. 

I'm reeling with a heavy heart today at the passing of a dear friend, David Lynch. I have been lucky in my life to meet my heroes, and David was one of them. He was one of my favorite guests. 

I am not clear on when we met. It may have been when we first invited him onto Morning Become Eclectic 30-something years ago... or I think that we met through a mutual friend (and later, David’s biographer), Kristine McKenna, at one of his art shows. He felt familiar; I think that's why we became friendly, or really that's just who he was. If David liked you, there was room for you. 

It was also because of the way our basement studios were set up. When we had guests, the host — either Chris, Nic, or Jason — would be across the board manning operations, and while the music played, David and I got to huddle chatting, or the three of us would talk. I answered the phone during the show, so I also got to talk with him when he'd call in to ask about the music we were playing... that's probably why it felt natural to talk with him. I didn't talk to him. We had real conversations. It's hard to remember about what, but the feeling is what I remember most. The ease. His ease puts you at ease. 


Portrait by Larry Hirshowitz for KCRW. 

There are so many fragments racing through my head right now. Like how we spent a couple of years during COVID airing his weather reports, recorded from his home studio. He'd look out the window and tell us what the skies looked like, the temperature, and what to expect that day. When he started doing the weather again (after a long hiatus) on YouTube, I reached out to him to see if we might be able to broadcast it daily on Morning Becomes Eclectic. It was early 2020, we were in lockdown with little to look forward to, but these reports lifted our spirits as Anne Litt and I worked out of her home studio. Each day, we'd eagerly await them. They'd be sent to us by his producer, Sabrina, and Anne would rip them into her computer. She'd introduce each segment by saying, “And now, David Lynch Theater presents: The weather” — a tongue-in-cheek moment that gave us joy during a hard time.

He liked to challenge us as well, throwing in crazy ideas for songs to follow the report, like he'd say “and today, I'm thinking about pencils.”

“What a great invention!” he’d exclaim. “With a pencil, these lines last through time. A lot of inks fade in time,” and would go on to talk about drawing green onions. I think we played Booker T.  

Anne and I would scramble and try to figure out what to play. He'd also share his favorite songs... like Chris Isaak's “Wicked Game” — songs that you knew he listened to as a director. I remember how when we started to venture out a little, David made it a point to come visit the afternoon after he got his first shot. He swung by Anne's house and we spent some time with him while he sat in his assistant Michael's humble Honda and we stood a safe distance in front of the house. 


L: Ariana, Anne Litt, and David Lynch hanging at a safe distance in early 2021; R: Lynch’s guest portrait from KCRW’s Polaroid wall. Photo courtesy of Anne Litt/KCRW. 

He came into our studios so many times, sharing new music with his collaborators, like Dean Hurley, Chrystabell, and Danger Mouse. 

Everything I've ever requested from him was pretty much granted. David, would you write something up for the forward of our book? And he came up with a beautiful little story, scrawled on a napkin, complete with illustrations. We turned it into a sculpture, and it's the first thing you see when you walk into KCRW HQ. David, would you come in to talk about the new record? David, how about a Q&A for our donors? He was generous with us. 

Talking with David was a treat. I remember one night, we were at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery at some show, hanging out upstairs outside while we smoked a joint together in between his cigarettes. 

We talked about TM — transcendental meditation — something that was close to his heart, probably one of the most important themes of his life. He thought I should try it, and he gifted me the course. It changed me. 


Lynch’s forward to the book KCRW: From The Basement, now immortalized in sculpture at KCRW’s front entrance. Image courtesy of KCRW.

He spoke openly and plainly. There was no pretense, ever. What you saw was what you got. He talked to everyone the same way. 

I knew how famous he was... one time, he did a talk with Bob Roth, an author and TM practitioner. You should have seen the mob that surrounded David. He took it in stride and still had time to say hello to me. 

Am I bragging? I don't want it to sound that way. 

As Morning Becomes Eclectic producer, I'd ask him to come in. Over three decades, he joined Chris Douridas, Nic Harcourt, Jason Bentley, and Anne to talk about the music he created. The furniture he was making, the paintings he was working on. He'd send presents... his own brand of coffee, a bound collection of his films, T-shirts. I kept it all. They are my treasures. In the days before the internet and before we published our playlists, he'd call in to find out what we were playing as we secretly hoped the tracks would wind up in his films. 


L: Ariana and David in the mid-’90s; R: Ariana and David in the late ’00s. 

I've known him for half of my life... and it was the better half. 

I liked that we didn't talk about music or movies as much as we talked about life. Simple quotidian things that meant something to either one of us. He was a good listener, too. 

As David Lynch makes his transition, I want to wish him blue skies and golden sunshine all along the way. Everyone, have a great day!

Explore a sampling of the David Lynch KCRW archives: 

David Lynch on the Twin Peaks revival and his Festival of Disruption Jason Bentley (10/11/17)

Credits

Producer:

Andrea Domanick