New Music from MC Lars
Post-punk laptop rock gets release date, goes Christmas.
Now this is the kind of rap that I can embrace. MC Lars’ unique style of punk-infused hip-hop is something that scene kids and hipsters alike can enjoy. His appeal is evident in the list of bands with whom he’s toured. There’s everything from pop-punk acts Simple Plan and Bowling for Soup to ska in Streetlight Manifesto and Suburban Legends to the short-lived indie dance-punk act Test Icicles.
Lars recently announced the release of his new LP This Gigantic Robot Kills, which will drop on February 24 on Crappy Records. The album features 14 tracks, two of which are previously released singles “Hipster Girl” and “White Kids Aren’t Hyphy,” as well as two songs from 2007 - “True Player For Real” (featuring “Weird Al” Yankovic on accordion) and “Twenty Three.” The other ten tracks were all written and recorded earlier this year with a pretty impressive roster of contributors. Appearing on This Gigantic Robot Kills are MC Bat Commander of The Aquabats, Suburban Legends, Gabriel Saporta of Cobra Starship, Jesse Dangerously, Jonathan Coulton and quite a few more.
Fans looking for new material, or those looking to become acquainted with MC Lars can check out The Green Christmas EP. The four-song offering includes one Christmas tune, “I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas” (that’s green as in environmentally friendly, not snow-less). The track is a good mix of hip-hop and pop-punk with lyrics that turn can come off as tongue in cheek and at other times are more serious about the state of the environment. Whatever your opinion of environmentalism, this is still a pretty awesome Christmas song.
“Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Doesn’t Mean You’re Slash)” is a preview of what’s to come, as it’s also on the track list for This Gigantic Robot Kills. The song pokes fun at the Guitar Hero players who think that pressing colored buttons makes them a talented musician. Two big names (ok, not big names but at least maybe recognizable) contribute to the track with Perry Gripp of Nerf Herder adding vocals and Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big dropping in for a nice guitar solo.
The Green Christmas EP is a great primer for someone who is unfamiliar with MC Lars. It’s short at just four tracks, but luckily “I Want My Guns N Roses,” “Shorty Wanna Spend My Stimulus Check,” “I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas” and “Guitar Hero Hero” all warrant multiple listens and will keep you occupied until This Gigantic Robot Kills drops this February.
Posted by Cory Roop on Dec 16, 2008 @ 12:00 am
