Handlebars

Hip-hop, or rap, is a genre of music that very much misunderstood. There is a very small amount of rap that I actually enjoy and listen to on a regular basis. However, I don't think this is because hip-hop itself is an inferior type of music. Far from it. In truth, I believe that hip-hop is just a more difficult style for writing a truly good song. (Now what a "good" song is, that's something for another debate.) But when one such song is successful, it is a beautiful thing.

What needs to be understood about hip-hop is that not every emotion can be expressed by this means. It is not easy, if not impossible, to write a joyful hip-hop song. If that is your desire, steer away from hip-hop. But that's not to say that it is always angry/hateful. It's true that it is easy to write a hateful hip-hop song, because of the aggressive nature inherent in the genre itself. But one can make better use of this aggressiveness.

The one song that I am thinking about right now is called "Handlebars" by the Flobots. It's a song that came out in 2007, and the first time I heard it years ago it hit me as a comical song. "I can ride a bike with now handlebars", it seems a silly line to open up with. Now, listening to the whole song with a more critical ear, I realize that this song is extremely aggressive, and has a message. Through the mish-mash of ideas, the song comes together at the end as an anti-war song. And more than that. This song is about the great potential humanity has. We progress so quickly. However, a lot of this blessed progress is being misused. Where we are finding new ways to help with the problem of poverty and hunger, the progress regarding new ways to kill people is years ahead in technology.

Such a subject needs an aggressive approach, and the Flobots do just this. This song may not be appreciated by everyone, as it is not the style that many like. But give it a try. The music video also helps with the ideas that the band is promoting as well:

Now on a more musically critical note:

When I first heard this song, I thought the rapping sounded somewhat amateurish, as well as the singing. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew something was different. I've realized that what is different is that the rapper does not change his pronunciation. He doesn't slur his words, or abbreviate in order to sound "gangsta". He speaks normally, as he does in everyday life, just with a bit more aggressiveness. It is raw, and I find it is more emotional. The singing is also bare-bones. Not extraordinary talent is found in his voice, but it has its own emotion as well.

This song gives me chills.