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Music Reviews
MC Frontalot interview Few genres or musical movements might be as unexpected as the emergence of “nerdcore hip-hop.” Classified by pretty standard samples and beats highlighted by what could best be called “geektastic” rhymes, the somewhat strange marriage seems to work better than most might expect. While bands like They Might Be Giants and Brave Combo have always championed the music for dweebs, nerds, and just all around social outcasts, there never seemed any real unifying sound. Now with acts like MC Hawking, MC Chris, and Paul Berman all really paving the way for what could be considered an honest to god new genre of music, there leaves little doubt that the nerds have most defiantly had their revenge. One of the pioneers of this new frontier is the ultra un-hip MC Frontalot, who was gracious enough to sit down with us spin some thoughts on music, politics, and the general nature of the verb “front.” Enjoy, foolish mortals…if you think you’re worthy. TMM: Where does MC Frontalot hail from, and how long has he been fronting? MCF: MC Frontalot comes from Berkeley. He has always fronted and he will always front. But more specifically, he has been making these home recordings since late 1999. TMM: Would you say there are more “nerdcore” or “hip-hop” aspects to your music? Sometimes your songs seem to be just as anything accessible as anything that more mainstream acts like Outkast or Black Eyed Peas might come out with, just with lower production value. MCF: I don't know anything about hip-hop except for what anyone might pick up from listening to it over the years. Nerdcore, though, I think I can occasionally speak to. I'm glad you think the songs are accessible, that's really my goal with every track, to straddle the line somehow. I want to make songs where the material is sophisticated enough to bear interest upon close attention and accessible enough to attract casual listeners. I don't work hard to reign in my nerd impulses for the sake of listenable songs; it's not like if I were to go at it full tilt I'd be devoting entire verses to my math coprocessor or kerning or post-structuralism. I find certain kind of dorky things, like video game culture or star wars fandom, totally familiar, so I use those as the settings for songs. Maybe I'll put out a whole song about Chris Ware's Acme Novelty or Jim Woodring's Frank, or some other thing that I can get so obsessive about that I wouldn't care that the song was entirely obscure. But mostly for nerd cred I just rely on my bad vision, poor posture, and enormous head. I do hope that my production gets better as I go, but I am a home recording type person and I will probably never have fancy equipment or understand a lot about mastering. My big excitement would be to work with real hip-hop producers who thought my songs were interesting and wanted to put good beats behind them. If I were on pop radio I'd shit myself in glee. TMM: Ah, so is the whole “Indier Than Thou” grandstanding merely a poor cover for the fact that you long for hip-hop stardom? MCF: Yeah, that song is a bit goofy. You can catch the true slant at the end of the chorus: being indie is all the better for Frontalot brand leverage. If I have any argument on the subject it's that you ought to base your like or dislike of something on its quality and not its popularity. That said, if I were on TV rapping about happy meals with Jar Jar I would hope that some fan would have the decency to shoot me. And I do of course share with many others a certain snobbishness when it comes to my favorite things being too cool for general consumption. But I try not to encourage myself towards being a complete dick about it. TMM: Who are some of your favorite musicians, either to work with or just listen to? And when the hell are you gonna cut something with MC Hawking? MCF: Actually, the Hawkman and I worked on one track for his new record. Not sure when it's out. And we've had a nice song called N3RdC0R3_R1S1n6 with me, Hawking, and the avowed Canadian Jesse Dangerously, that's been 90% done for about a year now. That last ten percent is the hardest, usually.People I always want to listen to: Tom Waits, Soul Coughing, The Roots, Del, Liz Phair (except for that new record), Foreign Legion, Talib Kweli, Cat Power, The Postal Service, Jane's Addiction, Blackalicious, Tori Amos, Stereolab, Portishead, Tricky, Esquivel, They Might Be Giants, De La Soul, and Rufus Wainwright. TMM: So we all know you fronted Bush to the nerdcore extreme. Who are you supporting in 2004? MCF: I can't make sense out of how you used "fronted" just now and also I don't know who I'm voting for. I like to think that if everybody voted for who they really think would make the awesomest TMM: I think my use of front is just fine, thank you. I guess that kinda leads me into my next question: what exactly is fronting? You use the term a lot (no pun intended) but never really get around to defining it. If you front me, should I be pleased or upset? MCF: First off, I cannot "front you" as fronting under its hip-hop usage is an intransitive verb. There is this transitive use, with a different meaning: if I were buying you drugs and you didn't give me the money ahead of time, I could front you (the money). But I do not ever rap about buying drugs for people. If I were to rap about that, I would probably rap that you should buy your own drugs, or maybe buy me some drugs if you're going over there anyway. When I mention (or name myself after) fronting, I refer to the misrepresentation of self. To front is to be inauthentic or to pretend. Rappers generally are obsessed with being authentic and stamping out fronting in all its forms, and rappers generally are cool. Being something of a dork, I am not cool enough to be a rapper.mTherefore, the amount that I have to front just to pick up a microphone is substantial. Don't tell anyone. TMM: I think you just did. Anywho, how annoying does it get have people want you to bust something about them or for them? (While we’re on the subject, a little True Madness rhyme would be nice.) MCF: It is not annoying, it is flattering. I hope the people who ask don't get too annoyed when I use my powers of arrogance and famousness to ignore them. For you: True Madness magazine is rad, save your pity / they're not shitty / so why's their site on Geocities? TMM: Good job, better than we could do. But don’t mock the power of Geocities; it’s been known to kill. Well I think we’re almost done here. Do you have any words of advice to anyone out there who might think for a second that they’re indier than you? MCF: Earlier today my mom bought $150 worth of my tee shirts. I think that sums it up. TMM: Alright. And as always, punch or kick? MCF: Punch, Punch, Kick (combo) |