All up on my wall and shiz!
There is something extremely unique about MC Lars (real name Andrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen). The 30 year old American has an Old Skool flava to his rapping, whilst being able to sample, name-drop and collaborate with a number of Pop/Punk and Rap bands and members. I've seen him play live a number of times supporting the likes of Bowling For Soup, Zebrahead and Wheatus to name but a few, and he is truly something to be seen. If you have seen any of the aforementioned bands then you will be familiar with this guy that confidently stands in front of sell-out crowds with nothing but a microphone and a laptop - He is after all the self-proclaimed originator of "Post-Punk Laptop Rap", and honestly, how many others can you name? A rap act by rights should stand out like the proverbial aching digit, but what connects him to other bands on the bill is his comedic take on life told in stories woven together with finger-on-the-pulse observations and clever play-on-words.
There is something slightly naive about MC Lars with his flow that can sometimes border on dated or slightly amateur, however this is not to say that I think that any of the songs are bad (as they are all well written and produced), but more so that there is a reminiscent charm, and this is why this Greatest Hits album is so successful. MC Lars is a thinking man's rapper, who will not waste your time swearing like a sailor, or graphically explaining any sexual conquests that he's either had, or very much hopes to have like many others of this particular genre.
First song Download This Song pokes fun at the music industry and includes a great guitar loop sample from Iggy Pop (The Passenger) whilst Bowling For Soup's singer Jaret Reddick sings the catchy chorus; and this is where MC Lars works best giving us his clean eloquent verses whilst collaborating with others to give the songs a little more 'oomph'. Twenty-Three has a catchy chorus written by none other than former Busted member James Bourne (an underrated song writer in my humble opinion), which is a touching song about suicide. We then have the brilliant This Gigantic Robot Kills which features The MC Bat Commander from bonkers-rockers The Aquabats, that whilst talking about a gigantic killing robot has a great Ska-Punk sound that embraces this genre, name dropping Less Than Jake, Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish. Great Stuff.
Hipster Girl is a cute look at what you might endure if you were to date someone a little like the old MTV cartoon character Daria (spin off from Mike Judge's Beavis & Butthead currently being reshown on one of the many music channels), and Generic Crunk Rap which details the rap genre that says a lot without saying anything at all, name dropping brands and general boasting. MC Lars just doesn't do this, in fact some of his songs actually detail popular English and American literature, like Mr.Raven which is a nod lyrically at Edgar Allan Poe's, The Raven, whilst later in Ahab we have the story of Moby Dick, however the best adaptation is the Punk-feel of Hey There Ophelia which is the story of Hamlet with the music and chorus of Therepy?'s Screamager, and sung with female vocals it's a truly perfect song.
Elsewhere we have the sentimental love story of Summer Camp (Is So In Tents), an appearance of MC Lars' fictional EMO band Hearts That Hate in the solid track, Signing Emo, an amusing look at the pros and cons of having the devil as a roommate in the obviously titled, The Roommate From Hell, then we have some Punk Rock with the help from the band The Matches in a poke-fun-at song specifically at the American 'cool punk-store' chain Hot Topic (like Blue Banana) in, Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock.
This album really has it all. MC Lars is a big rap nerd that somehow cultivated his brains and lyrical skill into something cool. His tongue is so firmly in his cheek that he may be in danger of looking deformed, but this is intelligent humour, and whilst swearing and general vocal tomfoolery have their place, MC Lars proves that without bowing down to the gutter you can mix up something creative, interesting and relevant to a whole new nation. I would suggest that some of his albums can be a mix of good and bad, but with this greatest hits album (the songs chosen by fans) these are all killer with no fillers.