On December 20, the Barbie bros left one more present under the mojo dojo casa houseās Xmas tree. Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson released Ken The EP and the accompanying single video, āIām Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie).ā But how is this song Christmasy? Is it the decorations in the studio? The fact Gosling says āMerry Christmas, Barbie,ā at the end? Yes and no. This version of āIām Just Kenā takes a lot of orchestral notes from wig enthusiast/producer/insane person Phil Spector. His āwall of soundā arrangement style is all over this single, as well as his compilation album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. Itās probably the best Christmas album from a convicted murderer. The albumās sole original composition is āChristmas (Baby Please Come Home),ā performed by Darlene Love.
But the strings section (and Gosling-as-Kenās despondency) reads less Spector-y and more like Harry Nilsson. The arrangement is reminiscent of his album of jazz standards, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, but the energy is all Son of Schmilsson. āHeād just separated, and was going through a divorce with his first wife Diane, and it hit him really hard,ā producer Richard Perry says in the documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkinā About Him)? While recording Son of Schmilsson, Nilsson fed his demons a diet of Brandy Alexanders and issued a song with the lyric āyouāre breaking my heart, youāre tearing me apart, so fuck you.ā
So thatās one self-destructive alcoholic and one violent misogynist echoing through Kenās Christmas single. How very on-brand for the Barbie movie and its themes of patriarchy and codependence. Happy Holidays!