An American alternative rock and hip-hip group from Denver, Colorado. Had a hit with "Handlebars
" in 2008.
Their albums include:
- Flobots Present:...Platypus (2005 EP)
- Fight With Tools (2007)
- Survival Story (2009)
- The Circle In The Square (2011)
- Noenemies (2017)
Also, they have a Webcomic on their site, entitled Rise of the Flobots: Architects of Change. It is created by member D.J. Coffman (13) and features stories based on the fans and their music with a scifi twist.
Tropes that apply to the band, the music, and the comic:
- Bad Future: The prediction of several of their songs if humanity doesn't get their shit together and do something. The comic also has a bad future where there was a second Civil War at some point, the environment is so degraded that the sky is perpetually smog filled and a weird green color, and the United States of America is led by a quite oppressive government that isn't opposed to hiring mercenaries to take care of insurgents.
- Boastful Rap: "Handlebars" is a deconstruction. It's about how the narrator can do anything, building up from riding his bike with no handlebars through various political and scientific actions up to ending the planet. It starts out silly, but by the end it's downright terrifying.
- Code Name: Every member has a numerical one. MC Jonny 5's is obvious. The others are:
- Stephen Brackett is 0.
- Jesse Walker is 101.
- Kenny Ortiz is 69.
- Mackenzie Gault is 33.
- Andy Guerrero is 17.
- Joe Ferrone is 79.
- D.J. Coffman is 13.
- Cerebus Syndrome: At the beginning of "Handlebars", it's like listening to some kid talking about what they did over summer break. By the end, we're listening to the rantings of a megalomaniac whose grasp on reality may or may not be slipping, and who may or may not be considering ending all life on Earth. The video only reinforces this.
- Creator Cameo: The comic creator's code number is 13 and the yellow Flobot seen on a mission in the beginning of Architects of Change has a 13 on the lower part of his face.
- Dead Guy on Display: Lt. Farrior's room is littered with easily dozens of Flobot heads on a shelf.
- Downer Ending: The end of the music video for "Handlebars": the police use violence to put down the resistance and the leader, the main character's brother, is shot, leaving the main character with a look of horrified realization.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: The main character from the song "Handlebars" goes from being able to ride his bike with no handlebars to a Corrupt Corporate Executive then to an oppressive dictator who can "end the planet in a holocaust!/ in a holocaust!/ in a HOLOCAUST!!". Also, he can ride his bike with no handlebars.
- La Résistance:
- In the comic the Flobots and the people at Camp Vulture are this. In the majority of their songs they urge the people to wake up and become pacifist guerillas to fight back against a destructive society and media mind control.
- The "Handlebars" video depicts the main character's brother inspiring people to rise up against his oppressive regime.
- My God, What Have I Done?: At the end of the music video for "Handlebars" there is a riot led by the main character's brother, who gets shot when the police put down the riot along with several other rioters. The look on the main character's face says it all.
- Precision F-Strike: Towards the beginning of "Stop the Apocalypse":
- "What the fuck is that barreling towards our metropolis?"
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Flobots released a diss track called "Handle Your Bars" in response to Logan Paul's unauthorised interpolation of "Handlebars" in his song "No Handlebars". Doubles as a
Funny Moment. - Ridiculously Human Robots: In the comics the Flobots are freedom fighting robots originally created to help put an end to the second American Civil War and bring back peace and prosperity, coming in two models, the diplomats and defenders to protect the diplomats. The defenders also double as potential killer robots if they have to, but both models prefer to settle things peacefully. Also count as Robot Me since the main comic Flobots are also the band members and the comic creators.
- Take That!: After Logan Paul interpolated "Handlebars" in a since-deleted song called "No Handlebars", Flobots bit back with a diss track.
- Telepathy: The Flobots of the comics have this but they can't exactly control where their messages go. One message ended up going back in time to a Parallel Universe to a doe in the woods another made it to the founding fathers. The strange messages from nowhere that the main characters from the comic stories Vote For Change and Iraq are messages from the Flobots in a parallel universe to try and prevent their Bad Future from happening there as well.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the comic, according to the data logs on the origin of Camp Vulture and the Flobots themselves, Flobot #13 used to be a diplomat model.
- 13 Is Unlucky: In the comic poor Flobot #13 goes on an effective suicide mission to retrieve vital information and send it back to the good guys in the Vulture and got blown up in the process. Later he gets what is effectively his mind/soul stolen by the Psycho for Hire.
