Memory Foam: MC Lars

On this special edition of Memory Foam, Josh and Vince sit down with independent rap pioneer, lit-hop originator, and longtime friend of the show, MC Lars! Lars dives deep into celebrating the 20th anniversary of his seminal record The Graduate, navigating the early-2000s DIY touring grind, and how childhood loss shaped his lifelong drive to build meaningful artistic friendships. We cover everything from his master’s thesis on using hip-hop to teach Shakespeare, to taking Edgar Allan Poe to rural youth centers, crossing paths with "The Family 3" in Rochester, and getting surprised by second verses from hip-hop royalty. Plus: trading tour war stories, what it was actually like working with Weird Al Yankovic, Dr. Doom verses from Kool Keith, deep lore on Disney’s The Black Cauldron, seltzer addictions in sobriety, and what’s next in the MC Lars universe. Sink into your pillows and enjoy the conversation! Timestamps & Chapters: 00:00 - Intro: Lit-Hop & DIY 01:52 - 20 Years of The Graduate 04:53 - Rochester Roots & "The Family 3" 07:20 - Lars on Cool Side of the Pillow in 2011 08:25 - Teaching Shakespeare with Rap 13:03 - The Edgar Allan Poe LP Album 15:05 - Life in Hell & Gary K. Wolf 17:48 - Memoir: The Nerdcore Years 19:33 - Weird Al & ICP Influences 22:00 - The Weird Al MySpace Story 24:52 - Merch & Cool Side of the Pillow Universe 30:20 - Anatomy of a Feature 34:28 - Writing "Signing Emo" 35:55 - K.Flay, Kool Keith, & KRS-One 40:00 - MC Frontalot & mc chris 42:30 - Dream Collabs: Steve Albini 43:20 - "Triforce" & Vulnerability 45:10 - The Black Cauldron Lore 48:46 - Current Music Picks 51:10 - Polar Seltzer & Sobriety 52:40 - October Tour Dates 55:10 - Outro Links: MC Lars: mclars.com | IG: @mclars | YouTube: youtube.com/@mc_lars Merch, Full Video & Dream Submissions: CoolSideOfThePillow.com | IG: @coolsideofthepillopodcast