RFBX: ‘It’s Genius, I Swear’ Special – JD Samson of MEN/Le Tigre on Barr’s ‘Summary’
By: JD Samson
Oh Barr. Barr Barr Barr. Barr is the genius project of Mr. Genius himself, Brendan Fowler. Brendan is a Baltimore boy/man who I attended college with in the early 2000s. We later started a project together (along with another college pal, Sarah Shapiro) called 'New England Roses'. The project was born out of the idea to cover (in its entirety) Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman, but then became an original friendship project with songs like, 'Confidence'.
Brendan is an artist in the truest form. He lives his art. And his art is his life. From paintings to photos to performances to writing. His personality will light up your life and his music will make you reconsider what the hell music was made to do anyways. This record is parts jazz, parts pop, parts melancholy, parts happy joyous occasions, parts motivational speaker, parts hip hop, parts punk, parts noise, parts emo. I love this record as a record and you should enjoy it as such. It is a piece of art. A piece of fuck the music industry. A piece of someone. A deep piece of someone. 
Brendan studied jazz percussion and it’s clear that his education guides him through this record. He doesn't necessarily do what you would expect, but that's the whole point. The second track (often the money shot on a pop record) was the single released in conjunction with the record, but the song is obviously in opposition to the music industry standard and a comment on the money shot track! The song is titled, ‘The Song is the Single’ and is incredibly poppy to some extent, but doesn't let you forget the point of the record. It’s art, and Barr doesn't really give in to some kind of standard of music industry bullshit. Not because he is argumentative. Not because he is subverting power. But because he just doesn't really care that much. He wants to make art and he should. Because no matter what he does he makes something beautiful. And I would support him no matter what. Even if he laid in bed breathing all day I would know there was some incredible carbon dioxide pouring out of a body somewhere on the planet.
Artists in this article: Le Tigre, MEN