Brad Barrish

Another month, another bunch of songs to keep you entertained. This compilation in particular features some great new bands/artists that you may not know about yet, but you will. Happy downloading.

01 Kenna . Man Fading from the album New Sacred Cow

02 The Dandy Warhols . We Used To Be Friends from the album Welcome To The Monkey House

03 Athlete . You Got The Style from the album Vehicles & Animals

04 Earlimart . We’re So Happy (We Left The Piano In The Truck) from the album Everyone Down Here

05 Calexico . Woven Birds from the album Feast Of Wire

06 Mogwai . Hunted By A Freak from the album Happy Songs For Happy People

07 Ms. John Soda . Misco from the album No P. Or D.

08 Morcheeba . Slow Down from the album Charango

09 Lisa Germano . Pearls from the album Lullaby For Liquid Pig

10 Christopher O’Riley . Knives Out from the album True Love Waits: Christopher O’Riley Plays Radiohead

11 The Polyphonic Spree . Days Like This Help Me Warm from the album The Beginning Stages Of…

12 Pat Metheny . And Time Goes On from the album One Quiet Night

13 Damien Rice . Volcano from the album O

14 Guster . Careful from the album Keep It Together

15 Longview . Further from the album Mercury

16 Death In Vegas . Scorpio Rising from the album Scorpio Rising

17 Grandaddy . El Caminos In The West from the album Sumday

18 Eels . Dirty Girl from the album Shootenanny!

This is just to precious (at times) for words.

Jane’s Addiction was one of the first bands that I remember having a tremendous impact on me. Sure, I remember Agnostic Front, Dead Kennedys, JFA and all the bands I listened to when I was riding a skateboard more often than I was walking. Those bands meant something to me, but they didn’t speak to me the way Jane’s or Nirvana did.

I vaguely remember the first time I heard Jane’s Addiction. There was this guy that was in the Jewish youth group I was in. His name was Brent Zacharia and lived in Omaha. He was a die-hard fan and Perry Ferrell was God to him. I still don’t understand how some kid from Omaha knew about Psi Com. It was barely making it’s way out of the confines of Southern California. I had no idea what was going on in Los Angeles and neither did he. Psi Com never impressed me at all, truth be told, but I certainly thought it was cool that Brent knew anything about them. Brent turned me and Kevin into the second and third biggest Jane’s fans in the Midwest and it was our mission to spread the gospel.

When I heard the first Jane’s Addiction album, namely the song “Trip Away,” that was it. I finally found a band that I could relate to and call my own. Mind you, this was a few years after it was actually released. The chronology is all a bit hazy. Shortly thereafter, I bought Nothing’s Shocking, and to this day I regard it as one of the best albums ever made, especially in my lifetime. Nirvana may get a lot of credit for starting the whole “alternative” thing, but there probably wouldn’t be Nirvana without Jane’s.

Here’s what I remember from Lollapalooza 1991: Ice-T or The Rollins Band (or maybe both) were talking about how drugs weren’t cool, but I was tripping so hard on LSD that I don’t even remember it very well. Living Colour was a total blur. I think they were wearing masks of some kind. Nine Inch Nails just trashed the stage and there was a lot of green light. Trent Reznor was The Hulk. I swear. Siouxsie and the Banshees? I have no idea. Jane’s Addiction…I’m sure it was the acid, but it was one of the most magnificent shows I have ever seen or heard. I don’t even remember the crowd. I was so transfixed on Jane’s. Perry knew the kids were eating acid, and he played directly to us. Well, that’s what it felt like. And I remember crying when they played “Summertime Rolls.” It was just a perfect song with perfect timing. Every once in a while if I’m feeling especially sappy, I can listen to that song and get choked up.

I don’t remember where I got it, but I have a cassette of some Jane’s demos that included a spoken word track by Perry called “Letters To Xiola,” that just kills me every time I listen to it. I’m sure every Jane’s fan has heard it, but at the time it felt like I was one of the lucky few that had it. And it wasn’t until a few moments ago, while reading the Jane’s Addiction & Porno For Pyros FAQ, that I realized it was/is available. I’m too lazy to start looking for it, but it’s cool to know that it’s out there. I remember being stoned out of my mind listening to that. All I could think was, “WOW!” Perry just sounded so profound and intelligent and…wasted. At the time I had no idea who Xiola was, and now that I do, it just makes me kinda sad. I still have that cassette tape.

And I mean that in the nicest way. Thanks to TMN for pointing me to the New York Observer, which cleared the air on something I have been wondering about for…well, since June 21. What is Summer 2003 all about? Fuck! Of course!

WARNING: IF YOU ARE BORED BY MY TECHNICAL AND TOTALLY GEEKY RAMBLINGS ON GADGETS YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS POST.

I’m not carrying as many gadgets, which is a good thing. The Sidekick, while a cool gadget, totally sucked as a phone, so I was sometimes forced to carry a cell phone with me in case the Sidekick didn’t get reception. Don’t get me wrong, when it was a good area for reception, I loved it, but don’t you think this is a bit much:

Verizon mobile phone T-Mobile Sidekick (phone/Internet gadget) Blackberry

I’d been debating getting rid of the Sidekick for a while and just getting a Palm device, but that wasn’t going to solve my problems of having to many address books for which to keep updated and carrying less gadgets. I did a little research over the last several days and I had two options. I could stay with T-Mobile and get the new Sony Ericsson P800, which is probably the coolest new mobile phone on the market, not to mention one of the most expensive and hardest-to-find, or I could stay with Verizon and get the new Kyocera 7135 smartphone which is essentially a Palm-powered mobile phone and also pretty pricey.

After some debate and more research, I decided to go with the Kyocera for a number of reasons:

1. I’ve been a Verizon customer for a long time and their coverage is excellent. T-Mobile’s coverage is among the worst.
2. The 7135 is Palm-based which has tons of applications. The P800 is Symbian-based and does not even come close to having as many applications.
3. I don’t need (or want) a phone with a camera of any kind. I have a digital camera that does the trick.
4. I am trying to consolidate gadgets and by getting a Palm-based mobile phone, I can keep a single address book on my phone and sync it between my Mac at home and my PC at work, thus one address book/date book.
5. Did I mention that I now have a single address book/date book?
6. I can do everything I did with the Sidekick (apart from using its insanely great thumb keyboard) with the 7135, though I do have to actually connect to the Internet when I want to get my email, IM or surf the web. Additionally, it eats into my minutes, which kinda sucks.
7. I found someone to buy my Sidekick and take over my contract, thus avoiding an early termination fee with T-Mobile.

I do have a barely used Motorola T720 (with lots of accessories) that I want to sell. If you have interest at all, drop me a line, otherwise it’s going on ebay.

A good friend just launched a nifty site for you tattoo fans (even if you don’t have them). I felt you should all know about it. Vote on tattoos, upload some photos of your own and then go get some ink.

I was doing my regular reading when I happened upon a story about Senator Orrin Hatch saying that he was in favor of remotely destroying a person’s computer for violating copyright laws. Now, I’m no legal expert, but I’m also no dummy. That’s illegal! And aside from being illegal, it’s just plain idiotic. I understand the frustration that the industry and its supporters are feeling, but merely suggesting that remotely destroying a file trader’s computer is justified in some way?! Certainly there are more constructive ways of dealing with this issue. Really, I’m so dumbfounded and speechless that I’m just staring at my blinking cursor trying to come up with something intelligent to say. I’m stunned…and it’s late. Ugh.

RELATED: Senator Hatch indroduces bill to burn people’s eyes out.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love gadgets, especially the mobile variety. I’m a sucker for anything that makes life a little easier and less cluttered. Today, I officially became too accessible, and it wasn’t by choice. Let’s run down the ways one could get in touch with me before this afternoon:

1. Call me on my mobile phone
2. Email me (which can be received on my T-Mobile Sidekick)
3. IM me (which can also be accessed on my Sidekick)
4. SMS message me to my mobile phone or my Sidekick
5. Call me at home

Before this afternoon that’s how accessible I was. Since my Sidekick doubles as a mobile phone, I usually only carry that with me, but the reception sucks so I will, on ocassion be carrying my mobile phone, my Sidekick and my iPod. That’s a lot of gadgetry to be toting around.

As of today I am the not-so-proud owner of a Blackberry, which allows me to get all of my work email no matter where I am (assuming service is available). Sure, it’s kind of a cool device, but enough is enough! I don’t want to be this accessible. Aside from being too accessible, I have way too many gadgets to carry around with me. I don’t need a fucking mobile phone with a camera on it. I want a single device that’s always on (unless I turn it off), that gets great mobile reception as a phone that I can use for personal and work email that utilizes ONE FUCKING ADDRESS BOOK that will sync to a PC and a Mac. Someone. Please. Build. One.

Goodnight.

Turin Brakes @ The Troubadour (Los Angeles, CA) 06.14.03

The Troubadour always proves to be one of the better venues to catch bands play intimates shows, especially when you see a band stripped down to its essentials. Seeing Turin Brakes play at The Troubadour was no exception. When the end of the year comes and I’m thinking back to the shows I was able to attend, this show will most likely be near the top.

According to Ollie (lead singer), they would usually come out to the stage and just start playing, but this evening’s show was different. This was only their second show in the U.S. They have always had problems getting into the states for various reason that were out of their control. Both Ollie and Gale were visibly grateful for the amazing turnout to the show. And when you consider that The Optimist LP, which brought them so much critical acclaim came out two years ago and they just released Ether Song, it was easy to see why they were so touched.

They’ve always been one of those bands that touches me in a spot that very few are able to do. I don’t know if it’s the subject matter of their songs, Ollie’s incredible and unique voice or just the whole package, but Turin Brakes’ music makes an impact. Seeing them live just confirmed it all for me. They are genius songsmiths.

The music and the venue were really enough, but when you go to a show in L.A., you don’t expect the crowd to be as into the music as they were for this show. It was one of those shows were you just couldn’t help but feel the positive energy from the audience. Turin Brakes took notice. When they thanked the crowd, it wasn’t lips service. They felt honored to be there and they played an amazing show which included songs from The Optimist LP and Ether Song. While I can’t remember the setlist, I know they played “Feeling Oblivion,” “Underdog (Save Me),” “Emergency 72,” “Future Boy,” “The Door,” “The State Of Things,” “Slack,” “Blue Hour,” “Average Man,” “Self Help,” “Stone Thrown” and “Pain Killer (Summer Rain).”

The whole evening was such a treat. Seeing Ollie and Gale sitting up on stage while Dave Palmer (a.k.a. Jesus) played the keys behind them could not have been more perfect. It would be interesting to see them with the full band, but I’ll always be a fan of the stripped-down performances.

[It should be noted that The Troubadour no longer allows cameras, unless they are disposable, into the club. Fuckers.]

Another month, another mix. It’s been rather inconsistant, at least with regards to sharing these on the site. I keep making them, but sometimes I just don’t have a chance to post them. In any event, there’s some gems, some of which I can’t post because they’re unreleased. Everything else I’m sure you can find on your favorite filesharing system, so have at it. Enjoy.

01 Andy Stochansky . Stutter from the album Five Star Hotel

02 The Thrills . One Horse Town from the album So Much For The City

03 The New Pornographers . From Blown Speakers from the album Electric Version

04 Guster . Amsterdam from the album Keep It Together

05 Stereo 360 . Don’t Belong from the album Enjoy Your Life Poolside

06 Pete Yorn . Burrito from the album Day I Forgot

07 Liz Phair . Extraordinary from the album Liz Phair

08 Coldplay . The One I Love from the single In My Place

09 Evan Dando . My Idea from the album Baby I’m Bored

10 Laptop . Know-It-All from the album Don’t Try This At Home

11 Random . Falling Through The Clouds from the album Falling Through The Clouds

12 Radiohead . 2+2=5 from the album Hail To The Thief

13 Elbow . Ribcage from the album Cast Of Thousands

14 West Indian Girl . Green (demo) (unreleased)

15 Tindersticks . Sweet Memory from the album Waiting For The Moon

16 Elliott . Carry On from the album Song In The Air

17 Rosey . The Difference (demo) (unreleased)

18 Minibar . New Mexico from the album Fly Below The Radar

19 Unitard (a.k.a. Yeah Yeah Yeahs) . Year To Be Hated from the album Yes New York