ABSTRACT
At the start of Twin Peaks: The Return, The Fireman tells Agent Cooper to “listen to the sounds”; this instruction is also meant for the audience. As Paul Booth explains, fannish play involves not only the appropriation and revision of media texts, but also purposeful—and profitable—play between producers and their audiences. In the works of David Lynch, this play is naturally encouraged through his distinct creative voice and his refusal to adhere to conventional storytelling methods, in particular (as noted by Jake Pitre), the “requirement to provide answers or closure.” This approach requires viewers to draw their own meaning from the text, or—if bold—to revel in its lack. For fans, the process of watching Twin Peaks: The Return through the summer of 2017 was an exhilarating if baffling journey. Social media and online fan forums exploded with observations and theories as viewers tried to make sense of it. Spurred on both by the auteur’s careful attention to sound design and his missive to “listen to the sounds,” viewers scoured the audio track for clues. Lynch’s soundtrack was simultaneously brimming with significance and devoid of meaning, playing with expectations and leaving ample room for interaction and interpretation. This chapter explores Lynch’s unruly storytelling, the series’ foregrounded soundtrack, and the resulting fan engagement, demonstrating a moment in which a creator and his audience invited each other into a shared space of sonic play.
