MC LARS (Post-Punk Laptop Rap)

I just have to rave for a little while about my friend Andrew Neilson, who is now most exclusively known as MC LARS. So do yourself a favor and read on to hear about someone who is big and only getting bigger (musically)...

I used to rock out to MC LARS HORRIS (as he called himself back in the day while at Stanford, I guess that was 3 years ago) at the CoHo, random parties, Art Affair, Cancer Walk/Run, pretty much any venue he could find. Of course his skills are more refined, his music sharper and cleaner, and his content reaches larger audiences now, but he remains the kick ass rapper that both challenges and inspires his listeners with his abstract concepts and literary and pop culture references. MC LARS is hands down amazing.

Let me begin with Andrew. An incredibly bright guy who will blow you mind when you meet him. He is super easy to talk to and very well versed and read. I remeber talking for an hour with Andrew driving to Sac Town from SSC South Lake Tahoe about Rush and Pavement and everything in between. He comes off with sometimes a dry sarcasm that is neither dry nor sarcastic, bur rather genuine and inquisitive but leaving you wondering what exactly he is thinking and if he is joking or serious in a brilliantly convoluted manner. He worked with me at the Stanford Chappie and had a dope comic strip in the Stanford Daily.

MC LARS' genre is Post-Punk Laptop Rap, a genre he pioneered himself. In fact I still have a bumper sticker or two of when he labeled himself as the short-lived genre of Hard-Core Alien Hip-Hop, a genre he outgrew. If you don't know what Post-Punk Laptop Rap is, the best way to find out is to download his songs and buy his CD's (Radio Pet Fencing, The Laptop EP, The Graduate) all of which are well worth your benjamins. MC LARS raps about everything from Shakespeare and Poe to MP3 peer to peer file transfer and Pro Tools, and the whole gambit inbetween. He juxtaposes pop culture with existentialism because he is so post-modern he doesn't even exist. One of his most creative stunts was inventing a ficticious band called Hearts That Hate (which at the time nobody knew of its ficticious nature) and sampling them while telling their story in his song "Signing Emo." It's about a major label A&R scout signing Hearts That Hate looking for a hit, profits from their transient fame, and dumps them (with MC LARS' feeding undertones of sarcasm and distast for our conformist society). Its pure genious.

MC LARS first gained popularity and momentum in the UK (listen to I Love England And Visa Versa), and signed with Truck Records. He kept writing and rapping and eventually making slick music videos. RapBeth kinda took storm in Australia, and he has followings in the far east and much of mainland Europe. Back in America he is really picking up steam. Even San Diego is picking up his song Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock on 94/9. He recently left Truck Records for his own Indie label, Horris Records and released The Graduate (and coincidentally graduated from Stanford).

Some other songs that need at least a listen to:
* iGeneration (a catchy dissertation of our generation [by our I mean those born in the 1980s +/- X years depending on your degree, technical savvyness, or music scene, or general association with the themes in the song],
* Download this song (a slick song off his new album just released on his own indie label called Horris Records)
* Mr. Raven (a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe and his dope Raven)
* RapBeth (Shakespeare with a hook)
* Escape from Robot Island (an epic poem of robots pirates and conflict)
* Hurricane Fresh (because its fresh, and upbeat, and fun)
* Hey that's me (A partial story of Andrew)
* Signing Emo (read above description)
* Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock (a song that is getting radio play even in the bubble that is San Diego, on 94/9 to be specific)
* Stats 60 (because statistics can be fun)
* Certified (because saving lives with CPR can be fun)
* Insectavorous (A song that I heard only 3 times live, and never found on any albums or digital sources. MC LARS, WTF? This was one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard about bugs and dietary habits. If you know where to get this song, I want it. Put it on your next LP)

Want some media? Music Videos can be found here. How about Songs? How about yeah.
Here is MC LARS' webpage, and his myspace page.

So check out his new album, The Graduate, or some of his older albums. You can also get it all on iTunes.