Flobots: Handlebars

FLOBOTS LYRICS:
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me
look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when the paths're all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And "I'm Proud to be an American"
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cause look

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome

I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me
Look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
ALIVE
In such a small world
All curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance

Cuz I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone

I can split the atom of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me
Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be
Alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die in exasperation
Have'em all healed leavin lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command

Because I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope

I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
no handlebars
FLOBOTS MUSIC VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs

If you’re not careful, power can take control of you. Who doesn’t want to be on top, right? There two different kinds of leaders: Someone who will use their power for good and someone who will abuse their power. The song Handlebars, by Flobots, portrays a life of a man who is content with who they are as a person. It also warns the listener about the effects of power and its results.
Flobots are talking about the affects of power. There are two friends who are being addressed here. The one guy talks about the things he can do and it’s okay with just that. The other guy takes what he can do to the next level. Slowly, he becomes a man of power and loves it. The beginning line is repetitive. You will find it at the beginning and end. It’s effective because the listener may get wrapped up into the power being talked about in the last few verses. So, at the end they remind us who they were in the very beginning. Flobots use pathos in their song. Just like any relationship, a friendship is just as much work. So to hear two friends parting ways and having one witness the other in such a way is hard to deal with. Also, when they start talk about ending the world in a holocaust. That was really effective because the first thing you think of is how Hitler treated the Jews. Flobots are not as popular as say The Beatles or Justin Timberlake, but the intelligence shown in Handlebars gives the credibility to Flobots. They know their politics, but keep it simple for any listeners.
The music video doesn’t take away from the argument in the lyrics. Everything said in the lyrics go hand in hand with what is in the music video. The music video is actually animated. I think this is so it can please any type of viewer. This music video uses pathos. Near the end of the music video is where it gets the most emotional. The two friends go against each other. The one rebels the one who has the power. Not out of jealousy, but out of disappointment and disagreement. The lyrics: I can end the world in a holocaust, are repeated and people are yelling and about to fight in the music video. The friend who has been abusing his power realizes that this is not at all what he wants. His friend from the beginning is killed. I guess this message shows at some point a man is convicted with what they have done.
Flobots simplify their intelligence, but make powerful and to the point. Are you going to fight for what you believe for and be content with what you have or are you going to abuse the power that was given to you?