Mr. Krinkle

Album: Pork Soda (1993)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Mr. Krinkle" is Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, who used that name as an alias when he checked into hotels. Primus frontman Les Claypool, who wrote the lyric, told Greg Prato: "The thing about Mike, he is one of these guys like Mike Watt - he has a very interesting perspective on things, and he's really good at tossing out these colorful little quips on how he perceives things. So we would have these great conversations on the phone. That's what 'Mr. Krinkle' is all about."
  • The line, "Seems the rumors are about your team might move away" refers to the San Francisco Giants, who were considering a move to Tampa. Mike Bordin ("Mr. Krinkle"), a huge Giants fan, was not happy about it.
  • Primus was at the peak of their popularity when they released this song on their third album, Pork Soda. "Alternative" music was big, but even in that genre, Primus was on the fringe and rarely got airplay on commercial radio. But their was a big market for these strange sounds and a festival to showcase it: Lollapalooza. Primus headlined in 1993 and included "Mr. Krinkle" in their sets.
  • This is a rare rock song with a double bass as lead instrument, played by Les Claypool. To avoid bringing the unwieldy instrument on the road, he would perform the song by using a bow on his electric bass.
  • Mark Kohr, who did most of the Primus videos in the '90s, directed this one, which is quite a feat of film-making. Done in a San Francisco warehouse, it's a one-shot video with acrobats, contortionists, dancers and other oddities that come in and out of the frame as the band plays in the corner. Les Claypool wears a pig-head mask the whole time to jibe with the "pork" theme of the album.

    Many of the performers were friends of the bands, and others came from the Circus Center school nearby. In a Songfacts interview with Mark Kohr, he said: "It was a lot of fun. And I'll tell you, from a one-shot standpoint, it was a lot of work. I had to do the timing of all of those events - meaning all of those people coming out - and have all that happen at the right time. It was a real challenge.

    It was a little terrifying. I had all these people and we had a rehearsal the day before. I was like, don't freak out, just keep moving, because it's going to turn out the same in the end whether you worry and crumble or not. But it was one of those times when I felt like my skin was on fire because there was so much riding on the whole situation. But that was a really fun piece to do with a lot of great people."

Comments: 1

  • Mike Canoose from Jacksonville Oregonmy wife loves the big brown beaver song shes an Oregon beaver fan im the for the ducks she worked for tax lawyers in los Gatos Calif that did the raiders and the giants Joe Montana i was born in Montana in 1956 we found your cd on ebay and t shirts so we got them hope you guys are having a great new year
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."