Sunday, November 20, 2016

Vinyl Review: "MC Chris Is Dreaming" by MC Chris

MC Chris Is Dreaming
Let's get a few things nice and sparkling clear before we move forward.

There are two things I need to explain before we continue with this particular review. MC Chris is one of my absolute favorite artists.

Aside from the previous revelation, I am a giant nerd. Those of you who follow my twitter account have actually seen that. After all, part of my bio is the "guy wearing a Voltron shirt at a Slayer concert."

So, naturally being a big nerd, I've been familiar with nerd music for quite some time.

As can be seen in the unboxing video below, I received a copy of the standard LP and not the limited edition vinyl. As is common for artists not on a major label, it took some extra time to get a copy of the vinyl after the digital/CD release.

MC Chris
Let's first offer some strong compliments to MC Chris on the quality of the discs themselves. In the past some of the records I've gotten from his store have been a little bit flimsy and slightly warped.

These records are thick and strong.

Included in the vinyl release is a download code for all the tracks and skits. On all releases before MC Chris Foreverrr the vinyls do not contain a download code.

In some cases, the records are even abbreviated. I've had the poor luck to have consistently have my favorite tracks absent from the vinyl.

On MC Chris Is Dreaming and its predecessor, the LP releases are not a companion, but a legitimate format as the skits, full track listing, and digital copy are all included.

When it comes to MC Chris releases, as he is a completely independent artist, one never really knows how many copies he's produced, or how many pressings there will be, but they will sell out eventually.

The cover art is sketched in "ball point" and features little drawings of all sorts of things that represent his career.

Like Foreverrr, this album contains a lyric sheet, which wasn't the case for a few albums in a row. On the lyric sheet, there are also more little sketches, a piece of pizza, a treasure chest, an eye of the beholder, etc.

This album does not have an analog chain, which for newer vinyl users, is what makes things like Jimi Hendrix pop when listening to the records rather than the CDs or MP3s.

To me, listening to vinyl is a lot like watching a VHS tape on a home theater back in the early 90's, there were some movies that sounded amazing on a home theater setup, and some that sounded better, but not amazing.

Even lacking the analog chain, this record sounds amazing. It's lush and clear. In the end, I don't personally listen to vinyl only because of the sound, but for the experience. There's a great satisfaction in holding a 12" long playing record and watching it spin while music pours out of my old school, three foot tall, three way speakers.

When it comes to music, MC Chris is always going to talk about all the nerdy bits that folks like myself have always thought about.

The skits on this record are a bit different, like with the previous release, there's a thematic concept. A Nightmare On Elm Street was the inspiration for the album. The smarmy manager at Mutant Pop Records, Mr. Chandler, appears a little bit like he has in the past few albums.

Mostly it's just MC and Freddy Krueger to hilarious effect.

MC Chris still has nerd culture that makes him wanna get on the mic and rip it up and as long as that happens, we'll still be here listening.

Release: Vinyl Out Now
Genre: Nerdcore Hip hop
Label: DIY
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