Floating into the night
June 12, 2022 5:04 AM   Subscribe

Julee Cruise, best known for her ethereal dreampop songs in the soundtrack of David Lynch's Twin Peaks TV series, passed away on Friday after a long illness.

Cruise was born in 1956, and had initially worked in musical theatre; her shift to the ethereal dreampop she became synonymous with was largely an accident: unable to obtain the rights to This Mortal Coil's cover of Song To The Siren, David Lynch asked his composer Angelo Badalamenti to create something with a similarly ethereal vibe, and Badalamenti asked fellow New York theatre veteran Cruise to find a singer; unable to find one, she turned her own singing and acting talents to the task, creating a persona the trio named The White Angel. Cruise, Lynch and Badalamenti recorded Cruise's debut album, Floating Into The Night at the same time as the soundtrack to Twin Peaks, sharing motifs and songs between the two; the result combined the ethereal dreampop of bands like the Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star with an ominous 1950s/60s Americana.
Several other albums including The Voice of Love (1993), The Art Of Being A Girl (2002) and My Secret Life (2011) followed. Cruise also played The Dreamself Of The Heartbroken Woman in Lynch's theatre production Industrial Symphony No. 1 had been a touring member of the B-52s and collaborated with artists including Pharrell Williams' Handsome Boy Modelling School and the Australian electronica project B(if)tek. In her own time, she enjoyed flying aircraft, which she had been doing since her teens.

Cruise had been diagnosed with lupus in 2018, and had struggled with chronic pain, limited mobility and depression, and ended her life by her own choice. Her husband Edward Grinnan wrote on Facebook, β€œShe left this realm on her own terms. No regrets. She is at peace … I played her [B-52’s song] Roam during her transition. Now she will roam forever. Rest in peace, my love.”
posted by acb (38 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by interogative mood at 5:13 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by Thorzdad at 5:17 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by dannyboybell at 5:18 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by Glinn at 5:20 AM on June 12, 2022


An amazing and heartbreaking story. I knew she had come to the end of her life; I had no idea of the circumstances. She was a singular talent and her music was an integral part of some of the most compelling television of the previous millennium.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:27 AM on June 12, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by hippybear at 6:06 AM on June 12, 2022


Floating into the Night and the Twin Peaks soundtrack were a gateway for a lot of people to a lot of very interesting musical places.

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posted by box at 6:22 AM on June 12, 2022 [5 favorites]


Her voice and music will forever represent a moment in time.

Her cover of "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears" was an integral part of the (life-altering) soundtrack for Until the End of the World.

I always thought her most emotionally affecting number was "Questions in a World of Blue."
posted by mykescipark at 6:38 AM on June 12, 2022 [7 favorites]


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f
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posted by fairmettle at 6:41 AM on June 12, 2022 [5 favorites]


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posted by Pendragon at 6:43 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by fregoli at 7:00 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 7:09 AM on June 12, 2022


Floating into the Night and the Twin Peaks soundtrack were a gateway for a lot of people to a lot of very interesting musical places.

Absolutely true for me.

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posted by soundguy99 at 7:16 AM on June 12, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by crocomancer at 8:03 AM on June 12, 2022


I'll just come out and say it: although I know that a lot of people like that cover of "Song to the Siren" (I much prefer the version that Tim Buckley did on, of all places, The Monkees), "Mysteries of Love" is by far the superior song.

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posted by Halloween Jack at 8:08 AM on June 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


πŸ¦‰πŸŒ™ .
posted by rjs at 8:23 AM on June 12, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by pt68 at 8:51 AM on June 12, 2022


In case anyone was thrown off by the typo in the post, she was born in 1956.
posted by snofoam at 10:13 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 10:21 AM on June 12, 2022


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posted by mephron at 11:04 AM on June 12, 2022


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Very sad. I'm not a huge dream-pop fan, but Twin Peaks would not be Twin Peaks without her wonderful voice.

I remember that she had some beefs with Lynch after seeing her appearance in The Return -- did they ever reconcile whatever the issue was there?
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:07 AM on June 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


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posted by shiny blue object at 12:11 PM on June 12, 2022


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[acb, thank you for your considered wording for this obit post.]
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:52 PM on June 12, 2022 [3 favorites]


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posted by detachd at 5:17 PM on June 12, 2022


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I want you
Rockin back
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posted by Xoebe at 7:41 PM on June 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


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