Rita Mishears: Black and Yellow Tshirts by MC Lars

MC Lars joins Less Than Jake on stage; Ska-loving nerds get excited

Yours truly is of course one of said ska-loving nerds. Less Than Jake were the most fun when I saw them last year and I've gushed lyrical about MC Lars before on this blog. So when I recently discovered they performed on stage together I, like many others..(okay like a few others at least) have some hope that LTJ ft MCL could happen.

Not sure if anyone really knows what's going on (esp. the two randomers on stage) but more of this plz.

Some band called Big Fish do an MC Lars cover at their high school talent show

When I saw that a high school band covered 'This Gigantic Robot Kills' by MC Lars with full brass section my ska/dork/troll sense went into overdrive! Then I clicked into the video and immediately knew it was going to exceed all my expectations!

Firstly naming your 3rd wave ska band Big Fish...srsly guyz? (I'm assuming they're a ska band..even so performing a ska cover with that name is damning evidence) What were the other suggestions you came up with while scribbling logos on your diary in maths class, More Than Jake? The Sublime Specials? And more importantly, are Reel Big Fish now the inspiration to a new generation of garage ska bands? Don't get me wrong, Sell Out was a tune (IN 1998) and Beer is my jam but even so..I'm not sure I want to live in a world where kids look up to RBF.

Then the video itself is a production line of Teenage Garage Band lols.

• Practice/Combo amps!
• The singer is the best example of a 'that guyyyy' that I've seen in quite a while. Yo brah, Saved by the Bell want their look back! Wanted him to be more of a douche but even so.
• You can't see the drummer properly thanks to that guyyyy
• Dem chorus vox..jello biafra much?
• Dat solo...
• Those hilarrriiious sunglasses..
• The fact that the bassist wears regular glasses. OMGoth. I feel your pain dude. But on the plus side when you look back on this you'll look slightly less like a douchebag.

Lettuce be srs though, I'd be delighted to have access to a brass section and 6 other dudes who know MC Lars now, nevermind in my teens. And they get cheers at the end so maybe they won't get beat up, and some of them might even get the girl.

Have you listened to MC Lars?

MC Lars is a college graduate dude who used to be in a pop punk band
and decided to make pop punk and pop culture influenced non offensive,
tongue in cheek white boy hip hop on his laptop. His lyrics are about
the internet, literature (shakespeare in particular), hipsters,
computer games, suburban ‘anarchists’, the environment and other
snippets of social commentary depending on what is trending at time of
writing. If you’re not at least interested in check him out knowing
all this then I fear there’s no hope for you.

To date he has a few albums out, as well as EPs and various other
songs here and there. He has a bucketload of influences and this makes
it hard to pick some songs to give an idea of his sound, as
practically every song is coming from a different genre. But here
goes.

Download This Song

Mixing a sample from a rock song - in this case The Passenger - with programmed drum beats, white boy rapping, a pop punk chorus - in this case the lad from Bowling For Soup - and an internet-related theme, this song pretty much sums up MC Lars.From the start of his career he recognised the power of downloading  and pretty much everything he has done is up for free on Bandcamp.

iGeneration

Slightly more of a hip hop feel with this one, but the chorus can pass for pop punk. Features the line 'hope I die before I get sold' again merging the contemporary trends with laptop programmed beats and giving a nod to rock songs of old. It's catchy as hell too.

Ahab

And here's a song about Moby Dick. Nothing says non offensive college degree guy like referencing literature! It's a well put together song and the Supergrass sample in the chorus is perfect.

It's not Easy being Green

Lyrics about the environment and global warming - check.

Pop punk chorus - check.

Tongue firmly in cheek when it needs to be - check.

And features the line 'I even rap in haikus..WHAT?!', possibly the best and nerdiest rap boast evar.

This Gigantic Robot Kills

A ska-influenced song with lyrics about a robot that kills faux reality tv stars. I'm in love, like.

Hipster Girl

Mocking a section of your fan base/peers at college and making a song that hipsters would probably enjoy otherwise = never not win.

The dude is pretty prolific in terms of songs/online content so if you're interested check him out, he has a new ep up for free download www.mclars.bandcamp.com