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Product Description

Formed as a cohesive alternative organism in 2005, the FLOBOTS `good-fight' mythology can be traced via Denver's underground vines and creative community of the late `90s when various members enlivened each others' gigs and creative events, setting the charge that would eventually power up the band's contagious and rollicking rock/rap pedigree. Their rousing live show, seasoned by classically trained viola player Mackenzie Robert's innovative playing, sparked an impressive undertow of across-the-board support (including both coasts and off-the-grid territories such as Nebraska and Utah) as the group honed its glowing activist edge with a refreshingly positive message and bristling musicianship.

The prescient "Handlebars," currently holding down a coveted `Top request' slot at several key radio stations as well as being the Most Added at Alternative Radio, has placed FLOBOTS among the most buzzed-about newcomers in rock and rap circles. "'Handlebars' was written in the same way the group kind of blossomed," says Jonny 5. "I had a friend a few years ago who asked me if I ever tried to ride my bike with no handlebars. I hadn't, so I tried it. Got to thinking about all the other things I could do - we could do. The song came so fast to me I actually called my mom's answering machine to record the lyrics and make sure I got it all down. Of course it's also about how even our best intentions are laden with some sort of opposite. We like to think that FLOBOTS are about directing that positive energy into real change."

Flobots Photos

Customer Reviews:

• This One Gets Me Pumped!!
  First off, let me say one thing about how the group has been tagged. Yes, this album is very political. I suppose it's all about where you stand, but I personally don't think it leans that far to the left, as I have seen them described. Maybe I should listen again. There are some Left-Wing things discussed, and what would a liberally-charged album be without the call for that elusive "revolution" that nobody really wants but wants to want?
  
  I will say this though: Since when did talking about helping your fellow man become a left-side thing? Why is anti-racism, anti-sexism, and other "anti-isms" a liberals-only value? Shouldn't it be an American value?
  
  Anyway, I'm sure what you really want to know is what it sounds like. I don't have time for a song-by-song review, but I'll give you something.
  
  As my review title clearly states, this is loud and in-your-face. I dig that sort of thing, so of course, I dug this album. 3 stars because it's a hell of a start, but it's missing something. Musically, most tracks sound the same. There are a few times when the music drowns out the lyrics, which isn't something you want when you're trying to hear what the guy's saying.
  
  Standout cuts: Anne Braden, Handlebars, Rise, and the title track. I would suggest listening to those and going from there....more info
• (R)evolution rap.
  This band performed with "Rage Against the Machine" here in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. At the end of the show, most of the 7000 people in attendence joined a march led by "Iraq Veterans Against the War." See The Ground Truth and Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations for more on that movement.
  It was a powerful scene, as a couple thousand other people joined in the march to the Pepsi Center where the Dems were gathering. After being faced with a phalanx of a few hundred Robocops ready to pounce on protesters, an Obama representative came out and received the letter from the members of IVAW.
  
  I noticed that Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" reported on this peaceable assembly, and used the Flobots' performance for their bumper music between news segments (see Democracy Now's 8/28/08 archive).
  
  Just today I smoked a bowl and revisited this CD. The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological & Spiritual
  I'll be sharing this disc, a radical tool itself, with many others.
  The viola is a great touch.
  
  Some related tools to resist the corporate colonization of our minds:
  Why We Fight
  The Corporation
  Rage Against the Machine
  Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times
  The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet
  Yes!
  
  "Let your life be a counterforce to the machine." - Henry David Thoreau
  New Suns Will Arise : From the Journals of Henry David Thoreau
  ...more info
• A fantastic album
  I was first introduced to the Flobots while I was driving to pick up Rock Band for a party. The guy in the car with me popped in his mix cd and put on Handlebars. I thought it was a pretty okay song. After hearing it on the radio a few times, I decided to go buy the album. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Fight With Tools is one of my favorite albums ever, now. I'm not normally a fan of rap music, but this album spoke to me on a level that few other albums have. I kept saying to myself as I listened, "Yeah! Alright! These guys totally get it!" The thing you have to understand before you listen to this album is that these guys are about as liberal as you can get. If you voted for Bush both times, avoid this album. If you've ever protested the war in Iraq, but it twice. The Flobots combine hip-hop stylings, masterful delivery, rockin' instrumentals, and a truly meaningful message to create a true masterpiece of an album. Even though iTunes says it is "hip-hop/rap", Fight with tools can't really be shoehorned into one genre. There are wicked guitar riffs in "Same Thing", a wonderful and unexpected jazzy saxophone solo in "Handlebars", and an interesting beat-box track in "Combat". The lyrics are politically charged and angry, but optimistic about the future. I half expected "Rise" to start playing everywhere when Obama was announced the President Elect. I guess my point is this: If you want something truly different, and you want an album that makes a point instead of just blabbing on about nothing, pick up Fight With Tools. You won't regret it....more info
• Power to the People
  The Flobots are not your typical band. They didn't get big by selling out. Instead they acquired fans similar to the way a grassroots organization would although they call them "Street Teams". Their fans told people who told people. It's a great early effort by a band with a lot of potential. Their themes are political but not over the top. They seem more interested in getting people to think then necessarily siding with a political ideology. Of course, there is a bit of pro-liberal/anti-conservative messages but it doesn't detract from the quality of the music.
  'Handlebars' is by far the track most will recognize but there are other gems here. 'Rise' and 'Stand Up' seem to reflect the feeling of the band that it's time to get off the sidelines and do something. One almost thinks of Public Enemy in the late eighties early nineties or Rage Against the Machine in the nineties for inspiration. They want people to start questioning the world so it can change for the better. I'd love to rate the album higher but this is simply to early in the bands career. I am eagerly looking forward to their next release...more info
• -facepalm-
  Yeah, brag about your ability to ride your bike with no handlebars and you have the hit of 08.
  
  Jeez, I wonder what other things these guys can do......more info
• Music with reason
  When i first heard their single No Handlebars I honestly started laughing thinking what is this however after listening to it the song was brilliant. I went out and got the album and to my amazement the cd is a really a powerful album. This album does have a unique sound to it. With trumpets, violins the sound comes off bazaar but works together really well. If you see the problems with whats going on around the world and feel no one else feels the same way you do please pick this album up. You will be glad you did....more info
• A fantastic album
  I was first introduced to the Flobots while I was driving to pick up Rock Band for a party. The guy in the car with me popped in his mix cd and put on Handlebars. I thought it was a pretty okay song. After hearing it on the radio a few times, I decided to go buy the album. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Fight With Tools is one of my favorite albums ever, now. I'm not normally a fan of rap music, but this album spoke to me on a level that few other albums have. I kept saying to myself as I listened, "Yeah! Alright! These guys totally get it!" The thing you have to understand before you listen to this album is that these guys are about as liberal as you can get. If you voted for Bush both times, avoid this album. If you've ever protested the war in Iraq, but it twice. The Flobots combine hip-hop stylings, masterful delivery, rockin' instrumentals, and a truly meaningful message to create a true masterpiece of an album. Even though iTunes says it is "hip-hop/rap", Fight with tools can't really be shoehorned into one genre. There are wicked guitar riffs in "Same Thing", a wonderful and unexpected jazzy saxophone solo in "Handlebars", and an interesting beat-box track in "Combat". The lyrics are politically charged and angry, but optimistic about the future. I half expected "Rise" to start playing everywhere when Obama was announced the President Elect. I guess my point is this: If you want something truly different, and you want an album that makes a point instead of just blabbing on about nothing, pick up Fight With Tools. You won't regret it....more info
• Just Great!
  How I found out about these guys was pretty different than how I usually find out about other bands. I was up really late trying to find new music, and I was in the mode for metal, so I was searching up metal bands that I haven't heard before and I started getting bored with hearing pretty much the same thing over and over again... is it just me or does metal all sound the same these days? Anyways...I decided to put Tool in the search for amazon, because they usually also show similar artists along with the band your looking for and I was hoping to stumble upon something gnarly like Tool, and I ended up stumbling onto this CD. It sure wasn't Tool but I was in shock none the less when I went to their myspace page and heard what I heard. I was so impressed that after I got done listening to the stuff on their page, I came back here and ordered the CD right away. I was searching metal and I ended up buying a rap album :P.
  
  I had no idea that these guys had a pretty big hit out there already with "Handlebars" and a semi-hit "Rise". Both very impressive tracks and if you have heard both you already know that Flobots are not your average rap group. All of the music is played with live instruments, no samples and they have the twist of having a viola player in the group. Pretty much it's a minor Yellowcard mixed in with The Roots, with amazing messages, maybe you can compare them to Saul Williams, or is that stretching it? Idk, point is, these guys are a pretty hybrid rap group and defiantly something to pick up if you like different music. This isn't the most extremely different thing out there (that reward goes to Mr. Bungle) but it's defiantly not your average rap album. They have skill, they have amazing flow, and a great message. Can't wait until my Onomatopia album comes in so I can hear more J5, and I'm really looking forward to another record by the Flobots. Buy it, you won't regret it!
  
  Standout Tracks:
  Mayday!!!
  Same Thing
  Stand Up
  Fight With Tools
  Handlebars
  Rise
  The Whole Album!!...more info
• Fight With Tools
  Flobots-Fight With Tools ****
  
  Local boys hit it big....Or so all the radio stations have been saying ever since the group was signed, though Colorado has become quite the music scene with The Frey, Devotchka, Meice, Tickle Me Pink among others all getting signed. Well the Flobots are better than all of those and their debut album Fight With Tools is a testament to that. With great lyricism to their rap, and great musicianship to back it up, the Flobots are hopefully the feature of rap.
  
  The lead single 'Handlebars' is a massive hit, and is one of the stupidest raps ever written and the music shouldn't go with the rest of the song but some how it still works. Now this is saying something because the record company felt that the song was so great that they did not rerecord it and left the demo on the album! That is rare. 'Stand Up' is and anthem for us all to take note of. Other stand outs include 'Annie Barden' and 'Mayday.' When the group is socially aware they are amazing, but the few times when they are not, they fall flat. The use of a real drummer and not a machine, along side a violin, and a trumpet make this one of the more unique groups around.
  
  With the exception of a few minor gripes, Fight With Tools is a rather fantastic debut, especially from a group who only a few months ago was playing dives next to my house!...more info
• Rapping about issues
  The CD "Fight with Tools" by Flobots, raps about issues that are facing the world today, a lot. You most likely heard about Flobots from their single "Handlebars" and if you are looking to get more of the same from this cd, stay away. That's not to say it's a bad CD, I enjoyed it. The use of instrumentals along with the hip-hop vocals is a nice combination for me. I recommend this purchase if you really liked "Handlebars" and are looking for a little variation in that music style....more info
• If you dont like Hip Hop this album may not be for you
  Really enjoyed the song Handlebar and bought the cd when I first heard the song. I did not do any research and bought based on impluse. I was very surprised to find out that it was more hip hop than alternative. The lyrics are very charged and remind me somewhat of a cross between Eminem and Rage Against the Machine. It is nice to hear a band trying something new and the Flobots are very fresh and original. The price is right and if you are into new sounds give it a try. ...more info
• Great songs, Great Message
  This band is outstanding, their songs flow seamlessly and they have great instrumentals as well. The songs also send out a great message about current events and the songs get you pumped. I would definitely recommend this band and this CD ...more info
• Takes you on a substantive journey
  Admittedly I had only heard "Handlebars". Being a fan of the band Cake (ex:Fashion Nugget), it really reminded me of their genre-bending style. Since Flobots were going to be playing at a music festival I picked up the CD so I can enjoy their show. I got much more than I bargained for. I was inspired by their social consciousness and the urgency they give to get up and do something, make a difference, take a stand. Go out and seek knowledge, information, action. Just by doing that, you are separating yourself from the mass consumerism message we are constantly being assaulted with.
  
  From the beginning we are warned about this with quickfire references such as dodging "silicone shrapnel". Progressively we are led through political stances we should re-examine and prophetically the calling of change in the Presidency. Then we are taken further down to examine the exponential capabilities of us as humans which the song "Handlebars" is about. Our capabilities are as limitless as they are dangerous. A very deep song and not just a constant blithering about riding your bike as some seem to think. The disc culminates in the encouragement that we have come a long way, but we need a call (Rise) to action if we want to make things better in the long run. The beauty of it all is this journey the Flobots take us on is without bitterness, specifically toward the country, and is simply an enlightenment to educate yourself and take some form of action (Fight with tools). The melting pot of musical styles just made it all the better. 70s retro funk? Rapping with a violin? An elderly lady freestyling? They make it work. So go fight with tools, rise, we are winning....more info
• The Cure for "American Idol" toxin Exposure..
  I first heard "the handlebars song" on the Alex Jones radio show out of Dallas, so I knew something was up. Then I saw the Google video of the song, so I checked the rest of the album out. Surprise, surprise: rap with a positive message. And it is pretty good too (I don't listen to most rap music, but this fits into the category that I like: Public Enemy, Paris). Anything to wake America up is most welcome.
  
  I think this album actually lives up to all the viral marketing hype. Also, anything that can blunt the effect of American Idol, getting airtime on the radio in spite of all that nonsense flooding the music industry, can't be all bad....more info
• Simply Awesome!
  I recently bought this album after hearing "Handlebars" on a local station and have found myself actually enjoying many of the other tracks even more. I will say, their lyrics tend to be very political (along the lines of Rage Against the Machine) and if you don't agree then, well, you probably won't like the Flobots. I personally find the lyrics very powerful and inspiring, something frankly RARE in the realm of hip-hop (admittedly, I am more of an alt rock girl).
  
  Musically, this band is simply amazing. Throwing trumpet and violin into the mix? Genius. (And I swear I heard a banjo on a couple of tracks.) "The Rhythm Method (Move!)" uses some of the craziest metric shifts I've ever heard in popular music. I have a degree in music and had to listen to this song about a dozen times to figure it out! (LOL, my music-fu may be slipping...) How many current artists out there even know what 7/8 time is?
  
  If you like political lyrics with a strong message, buy this album. If you like some rap but are generally turned off by the messages, buy this album. If you like genre-crossing instrumentation, style, rhythm and real musicianship, buy this album!...more info
• flobots sound good on cd
  This group doesn't seem the best live but on CD they are flawless and it is really worth having. There are rich sounds of different instruments including but not limited to the trumpet and violin. ...more info