Grace Potter Makes a ‘Friend’ in the Friendly Skies

Tim Burton, the movie director, producer and screenwriter known for quirky, whimsical films such as "Beetlejuice," "Edward Scissorhands" and "Alice in Wonderland," is using animation to put his own twist on the classic tale of Frankenstein. Due in theaters Oct. 5, "Frankenweenie" tells the story of a kid named Vincent Frankenstein who attempts to resurrect his dog from the dead. As eerie as it may sound, it's actually a heartwarming film, for which its eclectic creator wanted a soundtrack that reflects the storyline's emotion.

One of the original songs written for "Frankenweenie" is "My Mechanical Friend," penned by Grace Potter. The Nocturnals frontwoman downplays the difficulty of writing for such an unconventional story. "I know it's strange, but I've always had a better time with other people's wild ideas. Coming up with my own is a deeply emotional and challenging thing to do," she tells The Boot. "I saw the film before it was edited, in its entirety with the stuff behind the curtain. The writing of the movie and that overwhelming creepiness of a Tim Burton movie ... I wanted this song to be as creepy as the premise of the movie. So I started thinking about the mechanics of having a Frankenstein dog. The dog dies, and the kid wants to bring him back to life -- that's something we all can relate to. You don't want something to go away, so you hold it up and try to make it work again."

Grace explains that she had a slew of ideas for the song as soon as she left the screening. But given her hectic tour schedule, she found herself putting the finishing touches on the tune about 30,000 feet above ground.

"I actually recorded the demo on an airplane. You can hear the 'fasten seatbelt' (announcement) while I'm tracking the vocal," laughs the musician. "I went into the bathroom and sang the vocal, and the stewardess was like, 'What is she doing in there?' It was hilarious."

Upon landing, Grace received a rather serendipitous text from her friend Wayne Coyne, lead singer of the Flaming Lips. "He always sends me crazy photos -- and he sent me a picture of a brain in a jar," she recalls. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I've gotta get this guy on the track! He's so on my wavelength right now!' So I sent the demo to him, and he and the Flaming Lips worked their magic on it."

In addition to Grace's collaboration with the Flaming Lips, the "Frankenweeine" soundtrack also features songs by Neon Trees, Passion Pit, Plain White Ts and Winona Ryder. Pre-order the album and see its full track list here, and read more of our exclusive interview with Grace Potter here.

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