Brad Barrish

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

I’ve been neglecting the site again. What, haven’t noticed? Okay, good. I added a master list of the entries…actually, it’s always been there, I just now made it accessable for anyone who wants to read everything or doesn’t want to browse by month. In going back through some of the entries I’ve discovered some internal links don’t work, so I am in the process of fixing those as I find them. Feel free to point them out as well.

Also, you may notice that I changed the tagline. I don’t what it is, but people just assume that Jeans And A T-Shirt has to do with apparel. If you read a single entry from on the site, you will certainly notice that I have nothing to do with the sale/manufacturing/resale/importing/exporting/ of jeans or t-shirts. Perhaps I’m missing out on a lucrative business opportunity, which someone will undoubtedly point out to me in the near future. Email comes in on a regular basis asking one of the following questions:

1. Will you consider carrying our line of fine denim/soft cotton clothing?
2. I see you are taking donations, but how do I purchase your jeans/t-shirts?
3. Can I smell your jeans/t-shirts?
4. Will you wear my jeans/t-shirts, not wash them and send them back to me?

The answer is no.

And then of course there are people who like to post things. To be honest, I have no idea if these people are serious, but it makes me laugh. I figure bringing attention to such posts will certainly lead to more like them.

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I don’t remember the last time I had a dream I was dying. From what I can remember, and mind you this dream happened over 12 hours ago, I knew I was going to die. I had made all of these preparations. Everything was very real. It all took place in Los Angeles. My family had gathered, but no one was sad. They were just prepared for it. I kept trying to write down who all of my possessions would go to. CDs would go to this friend, DVDs to that friend, my television to someone else. I knew I only had until the next day. There was so much to do and I just couldn’t finish. Everyone wanted to say good-bye, which was fine, but I didn’t have time to myself. I felt ready to go though. I had come to some grand realization that it wasn’t over. That despite my death, I would move on to something else. And the weird thing about this dream was that I woke up several times and when I fell back asleep, it just picked up where it left off, which I don’t think I have ever experienced.

Growing up, I had this friend. His name was Kevin. He was a part of a group of friends that helped shape who I am today. There were two others as well, at least at the core of my peers through junior high and high school. I had a different relationship with each of these guys, though we often all hung out together. There were a couple of exceptions of note. Kevin was the one with whom I went on The March Of The Living and to Israel, both in 1992. These two experiences, though mostly The March, would be among the most defining moments in my childhood/early adulthood. The March was one of the most impactful and emotionally challenging things I have ever experienced and Kevin was by my side. We cried a lot together. We were exposed, quite graphically, to one of the most horrific crimes against humanity. It planted a seed of cynicism in me with which I still struggle. It has only been through reading and finding my own spiritual path in life that I have been able to be less cynical and more hopeful. I have found a way to turn poison into medicine, as it were.

Kevin was deeply impacted by the experience as well. We didn’t really talk about it much when we returned from the trip, at least not that I remember. We gave presentations about our experience to the community, but aside from that we didn’t speak of it. I know he was impacted because I was there. I noticed a change in him, just as I knew it had changed me. Word has it that following the trip Kevin began suffering from terrible headaches. I never knew of them.

After high school ended, we went our separate ways. When I spoke to his mom on Tuesday, she seemed to remember some sort of fight or argument, though I don’t. Over the last nearly ten years that I have had little or no contact with Kevin, he had been going to graduate school at Berkeley, gotten married and was doing some really incredible things in the Oakland community. He was also still suffering from his headaches, which were not treatable. Additionally, he was suffering from depression, though you would never know, if the words of others at his memorial service were any indication. He had grown into a very giving person who could not live up to his own expectations.

On May 10, Kevin took his own life. Kevin will always be a part of the memories I carry with me from my teenage years. Whether he was introducing me to The Who or Led Zeppelin, dropping acid with me for the first time, and years later, for the last time or just being present throughout the years, my memories of Kevin will be fond. I wish I would have known him better. It sounded like we would have had a lot to discuss.

I wrote a letter to his parents and brother, which included the following quote from Daisaku Ikeda:

Adversity gives birth to greatness. The greater the challenges and difficulties we face, the greater opportunity we have to grow and develop as people. A life without adversity, a life with ease and comfort, produces nothing and leaves us with nothing. This is one of the indisputable facts of life.

Kevin, may you be free of pain and suffering as you watch over the world. You will be missed.

Part if the reason I started this new format of the site was to make things a bit more personal. When I look back over the things that I’ve been posting since then, not much of it seems very personal. I suppose part of that is because I don’t figure someone wants to read about me, per se, but would rather hear what I have to say about various things, mostly music. That’s not meant to be as self-depreciating as it reads. Really, there just aren’t very many people I want to read about. When I go to other people’s web sites, it’s because there’s a piece of them that they put out there that I enjoy. It’s a small part of them, whether it’s a humorous look at the day they had or the show they went to, I can count on them for that. It’s entertaining in some way or another. I can’t think of a single site that I visit to read about their life. When I say life, I mean the dramas and the happiness and the sadness. And the reason I don’t usually post things about my own life is because I either write it down somewhere else, not to be shared with anyone who happens to just stumble upon my site, or I just want to keep things consistent. People seem to respond to what’s here, so why change it?

There’s a part of me that thinks that if I do share bits a pieces of what’s really going on in my life, maybe that will help one person deal with something that they are going through. I don’t mean that in an egotistical I-know-it-all kind of way, but simply there may just be someone who is going through what I’m going through and it may be comforting to know that someone else is experiencing/has experienced it as well. I know when I am going through rough times, and even the happier times, it makes me feel better to write or talk to someone. I’m not turning the site into some support group kind of thing, but I feel compelled to reach out to people because I know someone may read it. And hey, even if you don’t read the personal stuff and you just want to find out what shows are coming up, that’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to read any of this.