Is it Live or is it Memorex?
Owl in San Francisco in March, 2021. Photo: J. Waits
For the first six episodes of Twin Peaks, I have been struck by the constant use of telephones as a portal for myriad forms of communication, including secret messages and spying. Many of the characters have multiple phones, sometimes in the same room. They could be extensions or separate lines. We don’t know for sure. Which leads one to believe that there are different channels of communication at play. We also see intercom systems which work as both listening devices and broadcast devices in the Martel household. The sheriff’s station has telephones, a DuoFone speaker phone, and a public address system. And of course Cooper’s mini tape recorder is a constant, with him using it to dictate messages to Diane. But by episode 7, audio communication takes on a new flavor, with a heightened use of audio-visual tools.
If you’ve watched Season 1, Episode 7 of Twin Peaks, read on. If not, be forewarned. There will be spoilers!
While the television show Twin Peaks has a retro feel, this week (listen to Back to the Double R episode 7) we see more instances of the modern world and technology, including a police radio scanner, micro-cassette recorder, boombox, reel-to-reel recorder, video camera, TVs, a VCR, a computer, and even a big tangle of phone wire in Emory Battis’ closet where Audrey is hiding. This tech is used in different ways: for straight-up communication, for eavesdropping, and for trickery.
Waldo the myna bird is also a recording and playback device with his ability to mimic voices; so he is like a tape recorder/player as well, but he only functions when he’s in a playful mood. When Cooper sets up his voice-activated micro-cassette recorder to capture Waldo speaking, we get even more levels of recording and playback. Waldo speaks, the recorder starts, and we hear Waldo imitating Laura’s voice. On his contraband scanner (with the PA button pressed), Leo listens in to chatter at the Sheriff’s department. He overhears Lucy on the phone telling someone “the bird is a witness.” Leo races to the station, silencing Waldo with his shotgun. The sound of the bird murder is caught on tape, including Waldo (in Laura’s voice) saying “Leo, No!”
Audio and video also play a vital role in tricking Dr. Jacoby this week, with imitations of Laura on both VHS and over the phone used to lure him out of his bachelor pad. A true AV nerd, Jacoby has been shown wearing headphones and using stereo gear in the past and he has and uses a VCR. Notably he watches the soap opera “Invitation to Love” at night, while other characters view it in real-time during the day. Since this is 1990, he would have had to program his VCR to record it since this is WAY before things like Tivo and streaming television on-demand. As for audio, he had his patient Laura submit diary-like tapes to him. In this episode, we hear one of these recordings as James, Maddy and Donna listen to it on a Realistic brand Boombox. Maddy later uses the memory of this sound to realistically mimic the Laura who she heard on the cassette. Her phone call using this disguised voice causes Jacoby to venture out so that the crew can search for Laura’s missing last recording.
Finally, we hear breakdowns in the system, with feedback and interference. First it’s Cooper’s voice and then literal feedback while Cooper is outfitted with a wire. As he tests the microphone hidden under his shirt before his trip to One-Eyed Jacks, we hear his voice and then feedback over the public address speakers in the station. There’s also intermittent static and loss of picture as Jacoby watches a silent video tape of ghostly Laura in the form of costumed Maddy on his TWIN DIGITAL AUDIO TRACKING VCR. In neighboring scenes we hear multiple eerie screeching noises in the woods while we watch Maddy/Laura at the gazebo (and then what sounds like breathing?). While it’s perhaps a reminder that the Laura we see is a distortion, it doesn’t explain the noise in the woods. And the episode ends in an unsettling manner as we are left to wonder about that. It’s almost like an auditory cliff hanger. What lurks in the woods and what are we really hearing? I still don’t know, but I’ll be listening.