Fight With Tools

This band performed with "Rage Against the Machine" here in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. At the end of the show, most of the 7000 people in attendence joined a march led by "Iraq Veterans Against the War." See The Ground Truth and Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations for more on that movement.
It was a powerful scene, as a couple thousand other people joined in the march to the Pepsi Center where the Dems were gathering. After being faced with a phalanx of a few hundred Robocops ready to pounce on protesters, an Obama representative came out and received the letter from the members of IVAW.

I noticed that Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" reported on this peaceable assembly, and used the Flobots' performance for their bumper music between news segments (see Democracy Now's 8/28/08 archive).

Just today I smoked a bowl and revisited this CD. The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological & Spiritual
I'll be sharing this disc, a radical tool itself, with many others.
The viola is a great touch.

Some related tools to resist the corporate colonization of our minds:
Why We Fight
The Corporation
Rage Against the Machine
Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times
The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet
Yes!

"Let your life be a counterforce to the machine." - Henry David Thoreau
New Suns Will Arise : From the Journals of Henry David Thoreau

An eclectic mix of songs. A couple are not great, but most are a lot of fun, and the Progressively minded lyrics give you much to think about!

This album is not only great, it is inspiring. I have listened to this album, probably, 100 times this summer. Everyone I have exposed to this album has purchased it. I cannot give a higher recommendation than this!

I'm usually very hesitant purchasing an album based off one song when the genre (rap in this case) isn't one I usually listen to. Generally speaking, I'll love the one song and not listen to the rest of the album. In this case, though, I'm glad I broke my rule and picked up Fight With Tools because "Handlebars" isn't the only terrific song on this album.

Flobots reminds me of a couple different bands. They have hints of the politically charged Rage Against the Machine, but are more optimistic. There's the hornwork and a tinge of punk of some 90s ska bands, like Real Big Fish, only more hard-biting. There's the meticulous and nicely flowing rap like a lot of hip-hop artists today, only with more important things to say. But not only are there specific inspirations at work here, but a multitude of genres from rock to jazz to soul to hip-hop and beyond.

When the introduction opens, I realized that Flobots was presenting a thesis and that the rest of the album would be in support of their point. In fact, the words "There's A War Going On For Your Mind," as the opening states, are repeated a couple times throughout to stress this point. "Mayday!" starts wonderfully, adding a nice violin to the mix, an unexpected addition but a great one. "Same Things"'s jazz roots show through, with a kind of old school feel in new school shoes. From here, the CD takes off, but it's the last three songs that really pack the punch.

The ending starts with the song "Anne Braden," about the advocate of racial equality. Interspersed through this touching song are audio clips of Anne speaking about her thoughts on race. It creates a very introspective and moving song about her life and the the trials she and similar individuals went through. Her story is a good one.

Then we move to "We Are Winning," a plea for the people to become involved and active. It also tries to present a different picture; a different idea than ones crammed down our throat by showing the opposite of what we usually hear, with lyrics like, "Rival gangsters sit down to plan an after school program / A religious fanatic posts footage of an interfaith service project." They close with "Rise," which continues the plea of activisim.

All in all a very good album. Do I agree with everything professed in this album? No. Some of it steers a bit outside my scope and, sometimes, comfort zone. But isn't that what the best material should do? Take you outside your comfort zone and provoke thought? That's exactly what we have here; Fight With Tools not only provokes, but does so in an intelligent and witty fashion. But it's not all serious. Even if you strip away the political connotations, the music is what first hooked me. It's been a long time since I've heard music that's daring, different and similar all at the same time. A very good CD and one I heartily recommend.

The way they combine contemporary beats with traditional instrumentation is fresh. Musically they get an A+. Songs like "Anne Braden" and "We Are Winning" mix in elderly female's talking, which gives these tracks an avant-garde edginess. "We Are Winning" by the way is the best song on the album!

I also agree with half of what they say in their lyrics. They are very much anti-Geroge W. Bush, and rightfully so. He was a failure, the war in Iraq was a sham and a disgrace to us.

But their solution to the problems is juvenile. They have chosen the soft-core socialism of the Democratic party. Bureaucratic programs like universal health-care and welfare.

America needs less government. Of every kind. Every program. Every department. We need LESS not more. The bureaucracies are making this country fall apart. Fight against the status quo, YES! Fight against government corruption, YES! But fight to make the government bigger in hopes that it will enrich our lives? NO!

We need more bands like Flobots, sans the socialist message. We need some Libertarian Flobots. That would make a great American album with a great American message.