This song began as an idea of Carl Dexter‘s. Carl is an Olympia musician/producer. We’d worked on a few projects together and discussed his producing a single for me. He and Kelly Van Camp of my favorite Olympia band The Noses began this track working on their own at Carl’s Dream Kitchen studio in 1999.

When Carl delivered the music for me to write lyrics to, he already had a lyric idea. It was for a song called “Ken Doll” in which I was the titular toy singing about how “Every young girl wants a Ken doll”.

I’ve worked with a few people over the years who used our collaboration to express their disdain for me in ways I could never tell if I was meant to pick up on, or if they were even aware of having revealed. I suspected Carl’s “Ken Doll” idea was just such a case and later events would prove my instincts correct.

Carl didn’t like the lyrics I wrote to the music but we had agreed that words were my department, and he’d already done all the music, so he let me sing my lyrics and sent me out the door with the track you find here. I believe that may have been the last time we worked together.

I take great joy in this track which is, on one level, the story of a Six Million Dollar Man doll going out with a Barbie doll who keeps trying to make him be more like Ken and, on another level, was the most creative way I could think to turn Carl’s insulting idea on its head and make it beautiful.

Lyrics by Andras Jones
Music by Kelly Van Camp & Carl Dexter
Produced by Carl Dexter

Andras Jones – Lead Vocals
Carl Dexter – Bass Guitar, Guitars & Backing Vocals
Kelly Van Camp – Drums, Percussion & Backing Vocals
John Nason – Lead Guitar