The Big Picture
- Slash surprisingly contributed to the Barbie movie, aligning with the unexpected and eccentric nature of Barbie herself.
- Mark Ronson, the producer and songwriter for the movie, presented the idea to Slash, who enthusiastically accepted the offer.
- Slash’s session for the song “I’m Just Ken” posed challenges due to unforeseen changes, but he ultimately embraced the experience and enjoyed the opportunity to explore beyond his typical rockstar persona.
Among all the unconventional elements and appearances in the Barbie movie, the most surprising one turned out to be the involvement of renowned rockstar Slash. When you consider that Barbie embraces the unexpected and peculiar, having Slash as part of it actually makes perfect sense. In an interview with Collider, the acclaimed guitarist of Guns N’ Roses shared how he became part of the creation of the powerful ballad “I’m Just Ken.”
During the interview, Slash revealed to Christina Radish that, like everyone else, he had never even considered being involved in any way with the Barbie movie. However, the person who pitched him the project made all the difference and made it easy for Slash to say yes:
“Mark Ronson, who is the producer and I believe he wrote the entire soundtrack, called me and asked if I would play on a song he was working on for the movie. I admire Mark. He’s a talented producer and songwriter. So, I told him, ‘Send it to me and let me listen.’ So, he sent me a demo, and I found out it was a song about Ken, which in itself is pretty funny. I thought, ‘Okay, yeah, I can work with this.’ It was a session where Mark had only a basic skeleton recorded. He sent me stuff, and I was in the studio, so I did my part and sent it back.”
Rock Is Subversion, and So Is Slash
Slash also mentioned that the session for “I’m Just Ken” was “not an easy session” because it went through significant changes once drummer Josh Freese (The Vandals/Foo Fighters) got involved and added his drumming contribution, causing the guitarist to reconsider the composition. Nevertheless, he describes the experience as “fun” despite the unexpected alterations. Furthermore, Slash emphasized that he doesn’t limit himself to the “serious” rockstar persona: