If you have read any of the interviews MURS has done about his new album, you know it’s heavily inspired by his home state of California. If you have listened to any of the songs, or, hell, even if you just only know the title, Captain California, it’s clear what inspired MURS.  Sonically and conceptually this is a California album.

Except for one song.”Ay Caramba” is inspired by somewhere else. A little place called Springfield.

Not Springfield, CA…

Not Springfield, MO…

Not Springfield, VA…

Just Springfield…

You know… Home of Duff Beer, The Isotopes, and of course The Simpson family. There’s one Simpson family member in particular though who helped shape Captain California, Bart Simpson.

As a lifelong fan of The Simpsons, it’s the first thought that came to mind when I saw the title, but I figured it was coincidence. Not everyone is obsessed with Americas favorite bad-boy like I am…except for MURS. When asked about the inspiration behind the cut, MURS was quick to discuss Bart.

A lot of the album was about me going back to my roots and the first song I ever made, the first rap I ever wrote was as a story song about Bart Simpson. I was really obsessed with “Do The Bartman” and the Simpsons Sing The Blues album was a great record. Thats what made me write my first rap down on paper.

He’s been a present figure in my life, I have a sticker on my computer. My kid who has never seen an episode of The Simpsons will be like,  “Bart Simpson is a bad boy. I’m Bart Simpson.” I’m like, “he is a bad boy.” Something about that art is so simple. Its not corny like Mickey Mouse. He’s a bad ass kid; a super badass. Is it the skateboard?

30 years later he’s still relevant The show is still on and it transcends.  So this is my ode to that because we’re two generations of Bart Simpson fans here and I wanted to represent that and I got to do that with Aye Caramba.  

To me its fun, it almost didn’t make the album. When you hear the song, its ridiculous and I got to do “Aye aye aye” for no reason. I reference Harry potter, Bart Simpson, I do some type of mariachi call and I got to chop and screw my voice on it. There was just so much I got to do with that song. I got away with murder. I feel like I get away with murder because I put “Ay Caramba” in a song. That’s my ode to Bart Simpson. I love Bart, my son loves Bart, thus “Ay Caramba.”

Honestly, if you aren’t a fan of The Simpsons, it may not matter at all to you, but if you’ve watched the show, even once, it’ll definitely make you smile. It’s such a small tidbit in the Captain California narrative, but still, it’s the kind of thing that will make you appreciate the song in a totally different light and it’s always fascinating to hear where artists draw their inspiration from whether it be their home state or favorite cartoon.

A song on MURS’ Captian California is inspired by Bart Simpson…

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