Mr. Krinkle
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| “Mr. Krinkle” | |||||
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| Single by Primus from the album Pork Soda |
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| Released | 1993 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock Funk metal Alternative Metal |
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| Length | 5:27 | ||||
| Label | Interscope Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Claypool/LaLonde/Alexander | ||||
| Producer | Primus | ||||
| Primus singles chronology | |||||
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"Mr. Krinkle" is a 1993 single by Primus, from their album Pork Soda. It was the final single released off the album, and arguably the most bizarre of the bunch.
The song features Les Claypool on upright bass rather than his usual electric bass. The song's centerpiece is its bowed bass line, lending it a deep and rough sound, and allowing Claypool to play long, drawn-out notes and chords.
The lyrics in the song are remarkably cryptic, revolving around a Mr. Krinkle whom the narrator seems to know and speaks to throughout the song. The topics of their conversation vary wildly; the first verse is about Mr. Krinkle's "team" possibly "moving away", the second featuring the main character asking Mr. Krinkle to "cruise the Bastard boat", and the third verse having the narrator describe to Mr. Krinkle a new genre of music called "Heavy Hometown" that is a cross between "Jimi Hendrix, Bocephus, Cher and James Brown" and is described as "New Wave, cold-filtered, low-calorie dry".
At a show in Syracuse, New York on November 24th, 2003, Claypool stated that the song was about drummer Mike Bordin of Faith No More. He said the song is about them speaking to each other while both are on tour with their respective bands.
At a show in New Orleans on March 2nd 2004, Claypool stated that "a while back" he had returned to his hotel room after a party during a tour, to learn that his luggage had been stolen. When he asked the front desk, they said someone came in and claimed to be Mr. Claypool and had lost his key, so he got a new one and robbed his room. That is why his friend Mike Bordin uses the name Mr. Krinkle when he stays at a hotel.
[edit] Video
The single is perhaps best known for its outlandish music video, featuring Claypool wearing a decrepit pig mask and fat suit while wildly bowing an upright bass and prancing around, with guitarist Larry LaLonde dressed as a 1980s style glam metaller and drummer Tim Alexander dressed as some sort of Japanese samurai. Approximately 156 people appear in the video, though LaLonde and Alexander both appear only very briefly. In the background walks a parade of circus actors, including a man lit on fire and a Chinese dragon, among other things. The video itself was shot in an abandoned warehouse, or in an airplane hangar, according to the video commentary on the DVD Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. What the video has to do with the song is also unknown. It was all done in one shot while even featuring cameos from the various crew members, including the director. Claypool commented that this video was done, in large part, to "incorporate a lot of our friends." Future Primus drummer Bryan Mantia is featured as an ice cream vendor. According to Claypool (in the commentary track) it was his favorite video and was annoyed at the lack of airplay saying that MTV only aired the video "like, six times".
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