David Lynch was a visionary director of the strange and the surreal – but what we hear in his films is as important as what we see.

For the iconic writer-director, who was diagnosed with emphysema before his death last week at 78, cigarettes were more than a habit—they were a form of meditation, a symbol of the art life, and an endless source of visual poetry.

It would be convenient to say that I was so cool that I watched it on purpose, an artsy queer suburban kid desperate for culture. I happened upon it by some mysterious channel surfing synchronicity and kept watching,

David Lynch directed many scenes throughout his illustrious career that have never left our minds, but these ones stand out.

His visceral films, which reflect the best and worst of American life, affected viewers in realms both conscious and unconscious.

David Lynch famously abhorred explaining himself. “Believe it or not, Eraserhead is my most spiritual film,” the director once said of his esoteric debut feature, during a 2007 interview. When asked to elaborate,

Music played a huge role in defining the filmmaker’s distinctive atmosphere on the big and small screens. Hear 13 examples.

I’ve never been much of a Lynch fan. I’ve loved some of his works. Loathed others. Confounded by much of it. Yet I found the sadness of the news distracting. For now, our culture has lost a truly original guy who stuck to his vision despite controversies and detractors.

Lynch's legacy emphasized finding meaning and love, a lesson echoed in games inspired by his work. Games like Silent Hill, Death Stranding, and Control show strong Lynchian influences in storytelling and aesthetics.