BARR is the stage name of Brendan Fowler, one of the regular members of the LA DIY collective based at The Smell, alongside more widely-known artists such as No Age, HEALTH and Mika Miko. This song came out about 3 years ago, and was released on his 2007 album 'Summary'. It gets a bit 'meta' in places - basically a song about itself ("Everyone known rock 'n' roll is the language of night, but this got made in the day, it was bright. The drums are a lot looser, like falling apart, and the bass is a scratch on your skin"), as well as the process of making the song and touring, complete with direct Pavement references ("The conduit is cracked but at least it's for sale. Sorry, Steve, I had to say it"). The lyrics really are the reason to listen to this song, alternating between funny, clever and, strangely, informative. Completely based around a single drum machine loop and a very unexciting bass part, it is unashamedly basic ("You said you wanted pop but instead you got this. Oh my God, what do you do?") but gradually builds, introducing more instruments and more interesting story-based vocals. In that way, I suppose its kind of like a manic, slacker, one-man-band pseudo-rap version of Hey Jude. But only a crazy person would describe it like that - Hey Jude is boring, oversentimental chart-fodder, and this is brilliant.
BARR - The Song Is The Single
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