Handlebars (song): Difference between revisions
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The video ends with a flash back of the two friends peddling off riding with no handlebars into a bright light. |
The video ends with a flash back of the two friends peddling off riding with no handlebars into a bright light. |
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GAY QUIT CHANGING MY EDITS THEY'RE WAY BETTER THAN YOURS! |
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==Chart performance== |
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On May 1, 2008, less than three weeks after release, the song peaked at #3 on the [[Modern Rock Tracks|Billboard Modern Rock Tracks]].<ref name="Billboard" /> Fueled by radio airplay, including six straight weeks at the top of [[KROQ-FM|KROQ's]] most played list, it was the first single since [[Semisonic|Semisonic's]] "[[Closing Time (Semisonic song)|Closing Time]]" to chart in the top ten so quickly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pr-inside.com/flobots-celebrate-kick-off-of-debut-r594539.htm|title=Flobots Celebrate Kick Off of Debut Album Fight with Tools with Outdoor Hollywood Live Performance/In-Store|accessmonthday=May 22|accessyear=2008}}</ref> |
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It has had similar success on the digital landscape, having over 1,900,000 total plays on the band's [[MySpace.com]] page and over 9,000,000 views on YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/flobots|title=MySpace.com - FLOBOTS - Denver, Colorado - Hip Hop / Progressive / Classical - www.myspace.com/flobots|accessmonthday=May 22|accessyear=2008}}</ref><ref name="YOUtube">{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs |title=Flobots - Handlebars|accessmonthday=August 22|accessyear=2008}}</ref> Digital download purchases have placed the song at #4 on certain rap and hip-hop charts on [[Amazon.com]].<ref name="AMAZONchart">{{cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/Handlebars/dp/B0017ZUXMC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1211566607&sr=8-2 |title=Product Details |accessdate=2008-05-23 |format=Product sales page |work= }}''Scroll to see sales information.</ref> |
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"Handlebars" has also performed well on the [[Billboard charts]]. Peaking at number three on the [[Modern Rock Tracks]] chart, number twenty-two on the [[Hot Digital Songs]] chart, number thirty-five on the [[Pop 100]] chart, number thirty-seven on the [[Hot 100]] chart, number sixty-three on the [[Canadian Hot 100]]<ref name="Billboard">{{cite web |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?JSESSIONID=bBNNL9pH8vLLFyDlyq2L5QBX2JkLPLjVfHW2plF3LX1XDbYFLh2M!1006380521&model.vnuArtistId=857518&model.vnuAlbumId=1082390 |
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|title=Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - The Flobots |accessdate=2008-06-17 |work=Chart History |date= }}</ref> |
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"Handlebars" has been announced on [[BBC Radio 1]] as entering the UK's Official Top 40 at Number 35. It is expected to climb higher in the forthcoming weeks. The following week, the single soared to Number 18. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 03:42, 20 September 2008
| "Handlebars" | |
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| Song |
"Handlebars" is the debut single from the indie rap rock group Flobots from Denver, Colorado. It was originally recorded for Flobots Present...Platypus but it was re-released in October 2007 on the group's commercial debut album, Fight with Tools, before its single release in April 2008.
The song debuted to great popularity in a time where rap rock genres were certainly not at the foreground of commercial music. In addition to the more common hard rock instruments, "Handlebars" features horns and strings reminiscent of the metro college indie band Cake. The song was performed live on the June 5, 2008 edition of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Track Listing
7" Vinyl Release
- "Handlebars" - 3:27
- "Rise" - 4:10
Meaning
The song "is about the idea that we have so much incredible potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative," Flobots' MC Jonny 5 (a.k.a. Jamie Laurie) told MTV. "And it's tragic to me that the appetite for military innovation is endless, but when it comes to taking on a project like ending world hunger, it's seen as outlandish. It's not treated with the same seriousness."
"...at the same time, I knew there were people at that moment who were being bombed by our own country. And I thought that was incredibly powerful." It is the contrast between these "little moments of creativity, these bursts of innovation," and the way these ideas are put to use "to oppress and destroy people" that the singer feels is both "beautiful and tragic at the same time."[1]
Music video
The video for the song is entirely animated. It starts out lighthearted, showing two young friends riding their bikes without their hands on the handlebars. They arrive at a sign that points in two directions, one labeled with a corporate-like symbol, and the other labeled by a dove. They hug and head their separate ways.
The video's events escalate in tension and culminate in the corporate friend holding a dictator-like position of power, while the other friend has become a radical against him, while he is having such a horible time in the regular town area the corporate area eventually begins to tear it down and they rebel. The rebelious friend is shot and killed, along with all of the other followers, in front of the shocked corporate friend.
The video ends with a flash back of the two friends peddling off riding with no handlebars into a bright light.
GAY QUIT CHANGING MY EDITS THEY'RE WAY BETTER THAN YOURS!
References
- ^ Montgomery, James (2008-05-05). "Flobots Fight To Make The World A Better Place - News Story". news. MTV. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
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