Brad Barrish

My Lotion May Cause Cancer

I was having a discussion with A. the other day… Come to think of it, cancer has been the topic of conversation recently because more than ever we both know people with cancer or know someone who knows someone with cancer or that died of cancer. Cancer is everywhere, people. And if cancer doesn’t get you, the terrorists probably will. I’m reading through my daily web sites and notice a link to The Environmental Working Group, which has a web site devoted to telling you how all the shit you put on your face, body and scalp could kill you, or at least make life real miserable. My initial response is just what they were looking for. ‘HOLY SHIT, I’M THROWING MY LOTION AWAY!’ On second though though, who knows how this company is funded. Who knows what the real aim of this site is. I’m all for organizations and people posting things on the Interweb, but this alarmist bullshit has got to stop! Live life people. Don’t believe the hype. And wear sunscreen! [via glassdog]

Political Dating

Apparently the next big thing in online dating is Love In War. Seems like a cool idea to me, but really isn’t it just another means of hoping in the sack with someone? I happen to think that it makes things a little more interesting when you don’t have the same political views as the person your dating. You get to find out about the other side, how they think, why they think a certain way and sometimes you end up realizing that your views aren’t really all that different. I mean if you want to be a blind liberal/conservative/whatever, be my guest, but you’ll learn a little more by being with someone with whom you don’t see eye-to-eye. [via TrendCentral]

BMG Sony: A Step Closer

In the latest episode of Watch The Major Labels Consolidate And Make Room For The Second Coming Of The Indie, the European Competition Commissioner has given approval for Sony and BMG to merge. Ironically, I also read earlier today that EMI and Warner have started talking [about merging] again.

All of this talk about consolidation has plenty of people worried. As of now, there are 5 major labels, which account for the majority of the music heard on the radio, and for that matter most of what consumers buy. I happen to believe this consolidation is a good thing (except for the friends that have been laid off as a result). I think it’s about time for an indie label revolution, and more importantly I think it gives up-and-coming bands/artists motivation to take things into their own hands. Getting signed to a major isn’t the end-all-be-all. A&R guys are looking for hits, not bands to develop. It’s a sad state of affairs in the sense that the majors are the ones that have the big money, but there are plenty of bands making a living doing what they love to do outside of the major label system. David Crosby said it quite well in The Way The Music Died:

"The people who run record companies now wouldn't know a song if it flew up their nose and died. They haven't a clue, and they don't care. You tell them that, and they go, 'Yeah? So, your point is?' Because ...they don't care. They're actually sort of proud that they don't care.... Now they're going in the tank, because the world has changed, and they did not change with it...I think the only way to sell records that I know about now that does look really, really, really promising is iTunes."

I have so much mroe to say on this topic, but I’ll leave it at that for the time being. Thanks to Sellout Central for giving me a little inspiration.

GMail Invites

I have a couple of GMail invites to give away. Just be the first couple of people to leave a comment, and they are yours. You should know a couple of things about Gmail though:

  1. It’s creepy
  2. Privacy rights oganizations think so too

I’ve been using it for a while now (thanks to Porsha) and think it’s real cool, but the privacy issues do creep me out a bit. Good thing I haven’t been using it that often.

Save LA Music

LA Weekly posts their bets on the bands that will save the scene. I don’t know any of them. I should probably take advantage of this unemployment thing and check some of them out.

Rivers Does Annie, etc.

Rivers Cuomo has posted a few demos to his myspace.com site. Songs included are Ann Poonkasem’s “Invincible,” John Denver’s “Annie’s Song,” and “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. It streams the songs, so if you want to keep the songs for your very own, you’ll have to get one of those programs that saves streaming audio. I don’t know what they have for Windows, but on the Mac I recommend Audio Hijack. [via Pitchfork]