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EDITORIAL:
MUSIC
The Crystal Method
Friends of the Band Pull Off Some Method Magic
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by gerald poindexter
 You
know the song:
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lennon and McCartney didn’t have The Crystal Method’s
Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in mind when they wrote that opening
line from “With A Little Help from My Friends.” (Jordan
and Kirkland don’t sing, nor were they born by March 30, 1967,
when the song was recorded.) Nevertheless, that tune was prophetic
about at least one about this L.A.-based electronic music duo: It’s
tough doing everything on your own.
Jordan and Kirkland have a reputation for being funky, but it was
a motivational and creative funk that slowed the pace of recording
“Tweekend,” the follow-up to their 1997 debut, “Vegas.”
Specifically, TCM’s usual studio madness was out of tune from
two straight years of touring. They could have stood up and walked
out on each other. Instead, the new album proves that when the going
got rough they had a little help from one talented FOB (friend of
the band) after another.
And not merely help in the form of savvy, record matchmaking (i.e.,
guest cameos), but rather friends and high-profile partners led
by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
“He’s on the album more than anyone else,” says
Jordan. “He co-produced three tracks and he plays guitar on
two of those. And working with him was great ‘cause he’s
got such a great work ethic. He came in, knocked stuff out...we
got a lot of work done.”
He adds slyly, “That was helpful for us because we’re
notoriously slow.”
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
and I'll try not to sing out of key...
TCM were all ears for Scott Weiland, who contributed vocals for
the slow-burning track “Murder.” And according to Jordan,
the experience with the Stone Temple Pilots’ lead singer was
the “total opposite” of their work with Morello.
“We weren’t ever in the studio with him. We were sending
files back and forth (by email) to each other’s studio. We
met him about two or three years ago at a radio festival thing in
the Midwest. We talked then about doing some work in the future.
His track turned out really good.”
Oh, I get by with a little help from my
friends...
Other friends of note appearing on the album: Fiona Apple producer
Jon Brion and Styles of Beyond singer Ryu. But Jordan is unsure
if Tina Dixon, another helping hand, is dead or alive.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” he laughs
somewhat embarrassingly.
Dixon, was a early-‘70s African-American stand-up comedian
who worked blue routines that rivaled Red Foxx’ naughty bits,
said Jordan. Her sassy rants, sampled for the single “Name
of the Game,” were brought to his and Kirkland’s attention
by another album contributor and Beck co-hort, DJ Swamp, who provides
scratches on that track and others.
Mmm, I get high with a little help from
my friends...
Don't ask.
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