The Vegas Experience: The Crystal Method in Retrospect

Imagine you're a 16-year-old kid in late '97. You're used to rock, and you've discovered that the local rock station has been playing this odd, hard tune called "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do." You enjoy this song, it rocks hard. But there's all these weird beats mixed in with the guitars and drums. You wonder what that's all about. Helpfully, the DJ mentions that the artist, The Crystal Method, has this song on their album, though he notes that the track is different from the one you're hearing on the radio, which is being featured on the soundtrack of some movie.

How different could it be? you wonder. It can't be that different, can it? So you look for the album the next time you get your allowance.

Now, this is about the time when cassette tapes are dying their slow death, so the only format you can find the album, Vegas, on is Compact Disk. This is a problem, because you don't have a CD player. But you have to have this song, and you mom has this big 30+ CD stereo hooked up in the living room. She isn't up much in the mornings, so if you play it with earphones on, she won't mind. This becomes your first ever CD purchase.

You ignore the obvious connotations associated with a name like "Crystal Method", but track names like "She's my Pusher," "Vapor Trail," "Bad Stone," and, of course, the very track you wanted to listen to, "Trip Like I Do," reinforce the drug reference. You're unsure what to make of this. You slip some big, heavy earphones on, put the CD in, and, with some hesitation, press play.

The beat starts up on "Trip Like I Do." It's sounding a lot like the radio version...until you hear the intonation "Another world...another time...in the age of wonder." Confused, you listen on. Is that the opening from "The Dark Crystal"? Why, it surely is. The track continues, a musical slide down placid techno waters, with a sexy, sultry voice whispering "oh my god, the suspense" over and over in your ear. The tempo picks up. faster and faster the beats come, the musical stream becoming a rapid, and then you hear a declaration: "If only you would trip like me and we'd have fun...me and you..." There is a pause. "If only you'd trip like I do."

And you plunge into a fast paced, hardcore beat, the first time you've ever been exposed to this sort of thing. The BPM gets your blood pumping; you rock your head to the beat. You have no idea what a Rave is, but you picture flashing lights and screaming sirens.

The pace slows down, but you're hooked. You notice that the timer on the CD player has passed 6 minutes, but you don't care. The music has you.

The next rack starts up. A percussion beat, a voice stating "I guess I didn't know," and a bird-like siren call herald this track. You look at the title: "Busy Child." And it's a busy track. The percussion bumps to crescendos, the siren call sings, and you're carried away for another seven minutes.

Another track, rougher, edgier, starts. It shakes and rattles, and it's a lot faster than the last one. It's called Cherry Twist, and it's all about speed. You guess that's why they used it in the trailers for the "Gone In 60 Seconds" remake that you see years later. Compared to the previous tracks, it seems criminally short at only 4.25. It starts fast, ends faster, but still leaves you wanting more.

"High Roller" begins. It's slower, filled with what sounds like NASA transmissions sampled over and over again. The pace has crawled, becoming more of a trance filled with regular but unhurried beats. You feel weightless, carried along again my the music stream. This one doesn't lead over any rapids, but remains a steady ride throughout. Or perhaps it's more floating through a weightless space.

And then, there's a break. You have no idea what this strange gap is all about, but it's slow, dark, like crickets chirping in the night. You can't find a title for this track, because it doesn't seem to exist. Congratulations! You've found your first hidden track!

"Comin' Back" bubbles up. It's the first track with lyrics more like songs you're used to, rather than the random samples you've been listening to. It's a bit jarring. But you continue on. The music behind the vocals bubbles like sinister brew, anxious and restless. Meanwhile, the vocals promise that "you keep coming back again. You keep coming back for more." Well, you're already hooked at this point. Might as well see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The next track begins. It's like dawn put to music. Then dawn wavers, and the beat begins, hard, steady, uplifting. Unlike the bubbliness of the last track, this beat is steady and sure, and you bob your head in time. And then a speech beigns. "And I say this to you tonight. Let us not forget. There is hope!" The track is "Keep Hope Alive," and you're feeling it. how can you not, with the Reverend Jesse Jackson himself urging you on?

After the last notes fade, there is a clicking, as if something were being lighted, and another, slower beat begins. This is "Vapor Trail," a trance-inducing beat that leaves the sonic river and ascends skyward. You listen to the track, and picture yourself soaring past the clouds.

And then you land. The beat turns slower, but it's more bouncy. It's not a bad track, but it doesn't leave much of an impression on your mind. You look at the CD case again. "She's My Pusher." You shrug and continue on.

The pace picks up with the next song. It's a beat that hops, clearly meant to be danced to. There's lyrics in this one, as well, instead of random samples. "Think about the good things that I did to you," the girl sings. "Think about the bad things that I didn't do." It's an uncomfortable reminder of the drug refernces you noticed earlier. The track is called "Jaded." It's not one of your favroites.

Vaguely unsettled by the last song, you wonder what the last track, "Bad Stone," has in store for you. It begins with a warble of electronica, dipping from high to low. Someone unintelligible mumbles something. A dark beat starts up, and a higher-pitched siren warbles up, flying over your senses. You wonder if this is the musical equivelent of being uncomfortably drunk, but unlike the previous track, you dig it. It's another trance-like beat, moving you through bubbling beats and wiggly sirens that make everything sound off-kilter and strange. It's a sonic hangover, but you're feeling fine. In fact, better than fine. You're grining from ear to ear.

Because you know now that you need your own CD player, so you can listen to this again and again in the comfort of your own room. And, later, pick up other big beat music, such as The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.

Congratulations. You've just had my Vegas experiance. If you want to have your own, The Crystal Method recently re-relased the album, and also offer a deluxe edition. You can find both versions at these fine vendors:

Amazon.com

CD Universe

Best Buy

Tower Records

Barnes & Noble