<![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again - Idolator Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/idolator.com.png <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again - Idolator Comments]]> http://idolator.com Thu, 08 May 2008 04:35:23 EDT Thu, 08 May 2008 04:35:23 EDT http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5587813 @Al Shipley:
don't know if it strictly qualifies as hiphop or rap but i remember HFS playing "Oh Carolina" by Shaggy quite heavily in about 93 i think.


westerberghigh

]]> 33:386045:c5587813 Thu, 08 May 2008 04:35:23 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5526684 Did we already forget about Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda's side project "Fort Minor" from last year?

Darquekyss

]]> 33:386045:c5526684 Mon, 05 May 2008 13:46:13 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5498783 until i found out these guys thought of themselves at a rap unit, i thought they sounded just like Cake

another recent "rap" styled Modern Rock charting band was Transplants and of course Gnarls Barkley

Butch Huskey

]]> 33:386045:c5498783 Fri, 02 May 2008 14:22:50 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5495597 You know, I actually like this song...mainly because it's (now) different from what's played a lot. However, I have one complaint: The version in the video (and the album) isn't the same as the one on the radio...the radio mix has some different effects to it, and builds much better. I dunno, I just like to be able to get the version I like.

And they're definitely like angry Cake. I can't imagine that guy raising his voice.

jus10j

]]> 33:386045:c5495597 Fri, 02 May 2008 12:29:35 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5482220 @Reidicus: ...and Frank Stallone

Clevertrousers

]]> 33:386045:c5482220 Thu, 01 May 2008 16:37:27 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5481813 @Clevertrousers: Right, like Hall & Oates.

Reidicus

]]> 33:386045:c5481813 Thu, 01 May 2008 16:25:15 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5480666 @Al Shipley: Just wait until it gets to 420 views.

Ned Raggett

]]> 33:386045:c5480666 Thu, 01 May 2008 15:46:05 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5479019 Another kinda-rap Modern Rock hit popped into my head: Us3's "Cantaloop."

@Audif Jackson Winters III: Ah, good catch. It's definitely telling that Rabin wrote that article 8-9 years ago but all you'd have to do is change/add a couple names to update for any point since then.

@Chris Molanphy: Yeah, I can kinda hear the Cake comparison in the voice. But I mean, Cake's approach to rapping is very deadpan and droll, these Flobots guys very clearly had their lives changed by Zack De La Rocha (or maybe Sage Francis).

@beta.rogan: They don't seem to have ever made the rock charts, but that's not surprising. HFS always seemed a little more rap-friendly than the average alt station, a lot of songs I'd mentioned here were stuff I heard them play a lot, but turned out not to have enough national Modern Rock exposure to chart.

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5479019 Thu, 01 May 2008 14:48:37 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5478546 I'm not sure if they ever officially made it on the Modern Rock charts, but 3rd Bass got some play on WHFS with Pop goes the weasel. That could have been more because of their Dj "Weasel" rather than anything else I suppose...

beta.rogan

]]> 33:386045:c5478546 Thu, 01 May 2008 14:34:13 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5477718 lol:
10:00 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Al Shipley
311 views




Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5477718 Thu, 01 May 2008 14:05:30 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5476724 @Al Shipley: Apologies -- I missed your mention of Cake in the middle of that list.

I realize you've now got a slew of comments here with a boatload of comparisons to other acts, but to me Cake is the obvious comparison and probably why, to the average modern-rock PD, this is an easy sell.

Chris Molanphy

]]> 33:386045:c5476724 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:30:13 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5476701 Nathan Rabin of the Onion AV Club wrote a nice piece on this topic:

[www.avclub.com]

I initially thought this piece was from a few years back, but it's from *'99* ... and I know I read it when it came out. Yikes.

Audif Jackson Winters III

]]> 33:386045:c5476701 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:29:14 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5476437 BTW, "Handlebars" has climbed up to #5 on the new MR chart that Billboard released today.

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5476437 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:19:10 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5474300 @Butch Huskey: Lily Allen never charted on Modern Rock, and I mean, does she even count? I pretty much left artists that sang over samples/drum loops (like Primitive Radio Gods) out of the equation here just to narrow the field.

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5474300 Thu, 01 May 2008 12:04:22 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5474056 and nobody remembers Lily Allen?

Butch Huskey

]]> 33:386045:c5474056 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:56:22 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5474051 it's actually #2 on USA Today/Mediabase and would have been #1 this week if it wasnt for those pesky Weezer kids

Butch Huskey

]]> 33:386045:c5474051 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:56:07 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5473299 @AL: Bloodhound Gang! Another great exampled that eluded me! I definitely didn't mean to come off like everything I discussed in the column was bad. For the record, I like Soul Coughing, Beck and the Beasties to varying degrees, and the occasional single by RHCP, 311, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, RATM, etc. The only songs I totally hate or never understood the appeal of are "Hey Ya!" and "Pepper."

@Chris Molanphy: Good point, but hey, I did mention Cake!

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5473299 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:28:57 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5473119 Nice, and uncannily good timing. I had this very theme on the brain the other day when WRXP here in NYC threw the Beasties' "Hey Ladies" into the mix like it ain't no thang -- and I thought to myself, This is the closest I'll ever come to hearing something directly attributable to James Brown on a rock radio station. Why does this get a pass?

All I'll add to the Flobots discussion is a comparison to one other modern-rock staple band you didn't mention: Cake. Dude's voice is a ringer for John McCrea's, and the bits of horn they throw in about halfway through make the similarity even more overt. Honestly, the song sounds to me like Cake covering a (nonexistent) RATM song. Which makes its acceptance by modern-rock radio understandable -- it's as if Flobots are taking advantage of a gap in the market.

Chris Molanphy

]]> 33:386045:c5473119 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:22:55 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5473115 @Al Shipley: To be fair, it could just as easily be Dennis Kucinich rap or Ralph Nader rap, too...

Clevertrousers

]]> 33:386045:c5473115 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:22:50 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5473069 @joshservo: G Love is good for reminding Philadelphians that it'll aint all just the Roots and Gamble and Huff down there... they got some godawful shit to answer for, too!

Clevertrousers

]]> 33:386045:c5473069 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:21:12 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472948 @KinetiQ: OMG, you nailed it. This is Ron Paul rap.

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5472948 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:16:37 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472928 @Al Shipley: I like Lucas with the lid off! I just felt that, Crazy Town excepted, the examples you gave in the column weren't that bad. Flobots are more in FLC or Bloodhound Gang territory, imo.

AL

]]> 33:386045:c5472928 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:15:54 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472917 You know what G. Love's great for? Reminding myself that my musical taste in 1994 wasn't nearly as cool as I thought it was.

But Soul Coughing was...Actually...Good?

(ducks)

joshservo

]]> 33:386045:c5472917 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:15:32 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472894 @Clevertrousers: Yeah, he charted on Modern Rock! Good call!

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5472894 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:14:52 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472871 I think Flobots is like if the guitarist from Cake had a lovechild with that douchebag from Sublime (he's dead lol) and the kid grew up in an orphanage in Denver and listened to a whole lot of Linkin Park but didn't like the screaming bits.

Between the vague political positions of the album and undirected activism of their websites, it seems like it's perfect music for Alex Jones' "wake up sheeple"-shoutin college students. I considered recommending it to a few people but then I thought that would be rude.

"Anne Braden" is actually a good track. Now if only the rest of the album were similar... Still, I get the feeling that people who asked you six months ago if you knew about Ron Paul will now be asking you if you've heard Flobots. I think they'll stick around for a while, even if only on the internet.

@Al Shipley: Great writeup.

KinetiQ

]]> 33:386045:c5472871 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:13:57 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472804 @Al Shipley: Does Afroman count?

Clevertrousers

]]> 33:386045:c5472804 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:11:13 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472793 I'm still grappling with the message of the video. Child labor is bad? Well duh.

Clevertrousers

]]> 33:386045:c5472793 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:10:35 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5472663 @AL: Haha ahh good call. Please feel free to use this thread to list any other artists that scored quasi-rappity-rap Modern Rock hits that I didn't mention in the column. To keep the ball rolling: Soul Coughing, G. Love & Special Sauce, and P.O.D. Oh, and Lucas of "With The Lid Off" fame.

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5472663 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:05:23 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5471974 This is some Fun Lovin' Criminals shit.

AL

]]> 33:386045:c5471974 Thu, 01 May 2008 10:36:56 EDT <![CDATA[The Flobots Make Modern Rock Radio Safe For Rappin' Whitey Again]]> http://idolator.com/386045/the-flobots-make-modern-rock-radio-safe-for-rappin-whitey-again#c5471480 By the way, the Flobots album -- which as I said in the column, was released way back in October 2007 -- debuted on the Billboard chart this week at #196 selling about 3k copies (and sold 12k more in the past six months before ever charting).

Al Shipley

]]> 33:386045:c5471480 Thu, 01 May 2008 10:15:47 EDT