[7] The mood and tone of Eraserhead and its soundtrack were influenced by Philadelphia's post-industrial history.

Lynch lived in the city while studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and was fascinated by its feeling of constant danger; describing it both as a "sick, twisted, violent, fear ridden, decaying place" and "beautiful, if you see it the right way.

The ambiance of the love scene in the movie, for example, was produced by recording air blown through a microphone as it sat inside a bottle floating in a bathtub.

Also during the production of the soundtrack, Lynch drew two telephone wires for Splet, each line indicating between four and five pitches he wanted to be represented in the movie's music and sound effects.

When Splet played Lynch Fats Waller-esque pipe organ numbers as soundtrack material, Lynch was immediately confident in the pipe-organ style, stating that he had "never listened to any other kind of music for (Eraserhead).