''BlueBOB'' (stylized as ) is the debut studio album by the American director and musician
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
and audio engineer John Neff. It was released in December 2001 on Absurda—Lynch's own
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
—and Soulitude Records. Recorded over a 23-month period from 1998 to 2000 at Lynch's home studio, ''BlueBOB'' was originally an experiment by Lynch and Neff that evolved into a full-length album.
Described as an
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
album, ''BlueBOB'' features music co-written by both Lynch and Neff and lyrics by Lynch; Neff is the album's lead vocalist. Lynch's lyrics, some of which had been written two decades before the album, incorporate themes of
paranoia
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
and
noir fiction
Noir fiction (or roman noir) is a subgenre of crime fiction.
Definition
In its modern form, noir has come to denote a marked darkness in theme and subject matter, generally featuring a disturbing mixture of sex and violence and death in some ...
. The album incorporates elements of
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
,
surf and
heavy metal, which has drawn critical comparisons to
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
,
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
and
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...
.
''BlueBOB'' originally received a limited release through Lynch's official website but was later reissued in the United States and Europe. The album received particular interest from the music press in Europe, leading to Lynch and Neff's first-and-only live performance together at the
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, in November 2002. Critical response to ''BlueBOB'' was largely mixed.
Recording
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
and John Neff met in February 1997 when Neff was commissioned to design and install Lynch's home studio, Asymmetrical Studio, at his home in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States. Neff completed installing the studio in August and was subsequently recruited as the
recording engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
for ''Lux Vivens'' (1998), a
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Jocelyn Montgomery
Jocelyn West (formerly Jocelyn Montgomery) is a British musician and actress.
West was one of the founding members of the band Miranda Sex Garden. After leaving the band in the early 1990s, she joined the medieval music ensemble Sinfonye. In 1998 ...
which was recorded at Asymmetrical Studio and produced by Lynch.
Lynch and Neff never intended on recording a complete album; the two originally began recording "four or five songs" as part of a series of "experiments" while testing Lynch's home studio in April 1998.
Both Lynch and Neff
programmed and
sequenced
In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which suc ...
patterns into
drum machines, around which they would
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
and write the instrumental basis of several songs. Lynch also performed occasionally on a real
drum kit
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...
consisting of
DW drums and
Zildjian
:''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)''
The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...
cymbals,
but instead of performing parts with drum sticks he used his bare hands to hit the
snare drum
The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
. "Pink Western Range" was the first of four songs written during these sessions,
after which the decision was made to record a complete album.
Subsequent recording sessions continued until March 2000, with Lynch and Neff both heading
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
and Neff engineering the sessions. Lynch and Neff also
mixed ''BlueBOB'', and Tom Baker
mastered
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...
the album at Precision Mastering in Hollywood.
Neff recorded and performed lead vocal tracks on ''BlueBOB'', though all of the lyrics were written by Lynch.
Lynch would often hand the lyrics sheet to Neff just prior to a vocal
take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.
Film
In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...
; Neff would improvise the phrasing of the lyrics during takes. Describing the experience, Neff said "David has absolutely no idea of what he wants in advance. When the atmosphere is created, he gives me the
yrics It's like raising the sail without knowing which way the wind will blow".
Lynch also handled effects
sound design
Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...
on Neff's vocals tracks on two songs "I Cannot Do That" and "Mountains Falling".
''BlueBOB'' was recorded digitally using
Digidesign (now Avid)
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
,
however Lynch and Neff used several analog
effects unit
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...
s during recording, including a
Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
OD-2 overdrive pedal; a Boss OC-2
pitch-shifting pedal; a Boss BF-2
flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...
pedal; a Boss LT-2
limiting
In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power or level to pass unaffected while attenuating (lowering) the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this threshold. Limiting is a type of dynamic range compr ...
pedal; a Boss NS-2
noise suppression
Active noise control (ANC), also known as noise cancellation (NC), or active noise reduction (ANR), is a method for reducing unwanted sound by the addition of a second sound specifically designed to cancel the first. The concept was first develop ...
pedal and both Boss FT-2 and AW-2
envelope filter
Auto-wah (also known as a "Q-wah", "T-wah", "envelope following filter", "envelope follower" or "envelope filter") is a type of wah-wah effects pedal typically used with electric guitar, bass guitar, clavinet, and electric piano etc. The disti ...
pedals. During the initial "experiments" sessions, Neff would program music which Lynch would then process by altering the controls on the effects pedals. Observing the sessions, ''Boss Users Group Magazine'' writer Sam Molineaux said Lynch's in-studio writing process was "an individualistic approach to composition that seems more rooted in artistic whim than
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
or instrumental technique."
Composition
Music
![John Lee Hooker two](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/John_Lee_Hooker_two.jpg)
Neff has described the style of ''BlueBOB'' as "factory
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
" and "a combination of
heavy metal and 1956-era
rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
".
The album's official
press release
A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...
referred to it as "
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
",
which the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' considered "an apt description for the guttural sonic atmosphere of
distorted guitars, stark production and Neff's netherworld vocals."
Neff said that both he and Lynch had intended to create a "heavy blues" record and cited
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...
as a mutual influence on the album's sound;
Lynch had a desire to incorporate heavy industrial
beats, which he described as "like dogs on
PCP".
Inspired by "machines, fire, smoke & electricity",
Neff considered ''BlueBOB''s sound to be "dark music" due to Lynch's tendencies of writing several of the album's songs in
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
s and Neff often performing keyboards in lower
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
s.
The final sound of the album, described by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as featuring a "
space-age bluesy atmosphere and dark scenarios", drew comparisons to
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
and
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
.
During ''BlueBOB''s recording sessions Lynch performed electric guitars with them placed on his lap and often used the
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
technique with a bottleneck; Neff attributed Lynch's use of slide guitar to his preference for "organic sounds". Lynch's use of a bottleneck resulted in guitar sounds featuring excessive
vibrato
Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
. He also used several distortion effects pedals and experimented with
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
in his amplifiers to further affect his guitar sound.
Lynch had two main guitar
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
s. His first chain consisted of a
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
VG-8 emulation processor and a Roland GR-33
guitar synthesizer
A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.
Overview
Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partner ...
; his second chain consisted of several Boss pedals, including a LM-2 limiter pedal, a NS-2 noise suppression pedal, an OC-2 pitch-shifting pedal and an OD-2 overdrive pedal.
Lynch used three guitars during the sessions—a self-designed and custom-built
Fernandes
Fernandes is a surname in the Portuguese-speaking countries. The name is a patronymic form of the Portuguese and Spanish personal name ''Fernando''. Fernandes is the 243rd most common surname in the world, the 3rd one in Angola and in São Tom ...
Blackbird, a 1965
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
ES-330 and a
Parker Parker may refer to:
Persons
* Parker (given name)
* Parker (surname)
Places Place names in the United States
*Parker, Arizona
*Parker, Colorado
* Parker, Florida
* Parker, Idaho
* Parker, Kansas
* Parker, Missouri
* Parker, North Carolina
*Park ...
Fly
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
—and recorded his parts in
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
into two
Ampeg
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...
V4
tube amplifier
A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the amplitude or power of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by sol ...
.
Neff's guitar sound on ''BlueBOB'' was achieved by using a mixture of Gibson,
Fender,
Danelectro and
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
electric guitars—including a 1989
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...
with a computerized self-tuning system—through several
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
, Fender and Ampeg amplifiers. Neff also created a custom
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
-based guitar rig known as "Guitarkestra", which he used on three tracks: "Mountains Falling", "Pink Western Range" and "City of Dreams".
''BlueBOB''s
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
tracks—featured prominently on "Rollin' Down (To My House)", "Pink Western Range" and "City of Dreams"
—were created by Lynch and Neff
sampling the noise of different machines.
Lyrics
In a writing process differing from his previous projects such as
Julee Cruise
Julee Ann Cruise (December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released fo ...
s ''
Floating into the Night
''Floating into the Night'' is the debut studio album by American singer Julee Cruise. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Warner Bros. Records, and features compositions and production by Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch. ...
'' (1989), Lynch's wrote the lyrics to ''BlueBOB'' after all the music had been recorded. Explaining the method to ''Objectif Cinema'' in 2002, Lynch said:
Lynch's lyrics were sometimes written specifically for the album and others were selected from poems and lyrics he had written "during the last twenty years", according to Neff.
The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that ''BlueBOB''s lyrics contain "fragments of
L.A.
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
noir",
including Lynch's fascination with
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
(after whom one song is titled), as well as "Lynchian dark humor, sexual intrigue and dire plot twists";
a second article in the same newspaper noted lyrical themes of
paranoia
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
. Lynch wrote the lyrics to all of the album's songs, which Neff performed in a "largely spoken" vocal style.
Packaging
''BlueBOB''s was originally released in a black 8-inch×8-inch
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
, with a 16-page booklet containing lyrics, personnel credits, performance credits and
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
photography by Lynch; Lynch also designed ''BlueBOB''s sleeve. Lynch's photography includes
close-up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...
shots of industrial equipment and musical instruments, as well as landscapes of abandoned factories. The booklet's back-cover photograph of Neff and Lynch—in which Lynch is depicted as "the Groper" from the music video for "Thank You, Judge" —was shot by
Eli Roth.
Subsequent pressings of ''BlueBOB'' were released in a standard
jewel case
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
A ...
.
Lynch's original title for the album was ''2960'' instead of ''BlueBOB''. Asked about the significance of the numbers by the French magazine ''
Les Inrockuptibles
''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...
'', Neff said: "
ynch
file:Inch tape.jpg, Measuring tape with inches
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ″) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary S ...
will not tell me."
According to Lynch, ''BlueBOB''s title was Neff's idea.
Release
![Olympia facade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Olympia_facade.jpg)
''BlueBOB'' was originally released on
CD in December 2001 on Lynch's own
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
Absurda and only made available from his official website.
Lynch opted to release the album on his website due to the "big change going on" with
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s and because he considered Internet distribution as "the way to go."
The album was reissued in 13 European counties on Soulitude Records,
an independent label owned by Pascal Nabet Meyer, in 2002, where it received "strong press interest".
Soulitude reissued ''BlueBOB'' in the U.S. in April 2003.
''BlueBOB'' was performed live at Lynch and Neff's first-and-only-ever live performance together at
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, on November 11, 2002.
The sold-out show accompanied the album's launch on Soulitude in Europe.
Lynch and Neff were joined by four other musicians, including Nabet Meyer; Lynch performed electric guitar at the concert. Though Lynch was "thrilled about the opportunity" to perform, he has since referred to the experience as "torment",
as well as a "traumatic thrill" and "beautiful".
According to Neff, Lynch was "real nervous about playing" as he had never performed live music before.
The performance was part of a music festival by the french cultural magazine
Les Inrockuptibles
''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...
, with
Beth Gibbons
Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an ...
of
Portishead, French singer
Philippe Katerine
Philippe Blanchard (; born 8 December 1968), known professionally as Philippe Katerine, is a French singer-songwriter, actor, director and writer who began his career in 1991. Some of his popular singles include "Mon cœur balance", "Je vous em ...
and American musician
RJD2
Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as Soul Position, MHz Lega ...
all performing at the same venue on this evening.
Neff considered the idea of creating a multimedia theater presentation to promote ''BlueBOB''s release in the U.S., as "radio exposure outside of public and college stations
asunlikely." However, Lynch did not commit to the idea and it never reached fruition.
"Go Get Some" and an instrumental version of "Mountains Falling" are featured in Lynch's 2001 feature film ''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' and on its accompanying
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
; "Pretty 50s", another Lynch and Neff track, is also included on the soundtrack. A music video for "Thank You, Judge"—featuring
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...
,
Eli Roth, Lynch and Neff—was directed by Lynch and made available on his official website soon after the album's release.
Reception
''BlueBOB'' received mixed critical responses upon its release. In one of the album's earliest reviews in ''Les Inrockuptibles'' in 2001, critic Stéphane Deschamps described ''BlueBOB'' as "a kind of mutant music, massive and threatening to basic blues and industrial music"; Deschamps praised ''BlueBOB''s "creepy … ambiguous and refined" lyrics and likened its sound to various
surf artists, including
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...
and
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...
, writing that their "primitive and seminal" influence were the album's "best moments".
Writing for ''
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
'', reviewer Gentry Boeckel said "David Lynch's newest foray into noise is not unlike his better films: effortful, atmospheric, and best taken ''just as it is''". Boeckel considered the instrumental tracks—"Factory Interlude", "Blue Horse" and "Go Get Some"—as the standout parts of ''BlueBOB'' and believed it "lack
dof a strong contrasting presence" and that "the album may seem too monotonous for some tastes. However, Neff and Lynch's creation lives up to its billing as the first 'industrial-blues' album—and much like Lynch's work in film, you either love it or hate it: but you can't deny its inescapable mood." Bockel awarded the album a "B" rating.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writer Heather Phares said in a largely mixed three-out-of-five-star review that "most of the pieces
n ''BlueBOB''aren't quite as evocative as Lynch and Neff's soundtrack work" and the tracks "aren't immediate enough to work as rock songs", but said the album contained "interesting moments" when Lynch and Neff "mix the banal and the bizarre in a way that possibly only Lynch fans could truly appreciate." Phares also criticized the album's "overdependence" on Neff's vocals, writing that "his raspy, sardonic voice adds an edge to some of the tracks but wears out its welcome relatively quickly", but summarized it as "dark, disjointed, unpredictable and highly unique".
In his "Real Life Rock Top Ten" column for ''
City Pages
''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
'', critic
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.
Biography
Marcus wa ...
referred to ''BlueBOB'' as "Link Wray opens for
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...
" and the track "I Cannot Do That" as "the musical equivalent of an outtake from ''
Lost Highway'', furiously sustained." Marcus considered "Thank You, Judge" as the "
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...
" of the album and called it an "
R&B divorce-court novelty."
Track listing
Personnel
All personnel credits adapted from ''BlueBOB''s album notes.
;Performers
*
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
– drums , guitar ,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, backing vocals , sound effects , drum effects
*John Neff – guitar , bass , vocals , drums , backing vocals , percussion
;Technical personnel
*David Lynch –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
,
mixing, vocal-effects
sound design
Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...
, ambient sound design
*John Neff – production,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
ing, mixing
*Tom Baker –
mastering
;Design personnel
*David Lynch – design, photography
*
Eli Roth – photography
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2001 debut albums
Albums produced by David Lynch
Collaborative albums
David Lynch albums