OT: Music 6

[UFO]

I imagine that rap music isn't really that big around this fanbase, hell knows I like very little of it myself, but this song wandered across my playlist earlier this week and I really gotta say, it's articulated the present arc of current events around the world and, yeah, kinda why I'm a little terrified these days.



Lyrics to "Handlebars" by Flobots

I'm keen on old school hip hop from the 80s and 90s.

 

[Jets 31]

I'm keen on old school hip hop from the 80s and 90s.

Ya i like some too.

 

[AlphaLackey]

Sorry, i thought it was funny.

It was funny. Agitating friends for the amusement of all is a fine activity.

I'm keen on old school hip hop from the 80s and 90s.

It definitely is old school. I shared this video with a friend from a younger generation, and I had to explain how "I can see your face in the telephone" would have been like "holy shit this guy's a baller" by turn-of-the-century standards. Nowadays, knowing all the words to "De Colores" is the far more impressive achievement

 

[sipowicz]

I imagine that rap music isn't really that big around this fanbase, hell knows I like very little of it myself, but this song wandered across my playlist earlier this week and I really gotta say, it's articulated the present arc of current events around the world and, yeah, kinda why I'm a little terrified these days.



Lyrics to "Handlebars" by Flobots

What rhymes with rap, oh right crap which is exactly what it is! Is it even music or just mindless noise!

 

[AlphaLackey]

What rhymes with rap, oh right crap which is exactly what it is! Is it even music or just mindless noise!

Did you listen to the song? You really should. If not, at least read the lyrics (which I linked in the post)

I'd definitely say it's music: it features a ukulele, bass guitar, standard drums, trumpet, and electric guitar. Those are definitely musical instruments. And the music is integral to the song -- the 'heaviness' of the music coincides with the lyrics getting more and more dire.

And I certainly wouldn't call it mindless. It tells a clearly mindful narrative of a young child full of wonder (riding a bike without using handlebars? That's like a baller move when you're a kid!), who becomes more capable, then more ambitious, and it spirals out of control.

And at the risk of violating rules on politics in the thread, I think it's safe to say that this is a pretty effective allegory for the world as it stands right now, and what we're teetering on the edge of.

... I'll grant you that the syncopated and non-melodious vocals aren't everyone's cup of tea -- two of the many reasons I change the dial every time that f***ing 'Ironic' song comes on the radio -- But I certainly don't think that, in this case, it disqualifies the song from being "actually music"