Yeah, I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge. The kids are coming up from behind. I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge to the kids from France and from London. But I was there.
I was there in 1968. I was there at the first Can show in Cologne. I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge to the kids whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks. I'm losing my edge to the Internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1962 to 1978. I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tokyo and Berlin. I'm losing my edge to the art-school Brooklynites in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties.
But I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge, but I was there. I was there. But I was there.
I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge. I can hear the footsteps every night on the decks. But I was there. I was there in 1974 at the first Suicide practices in a loft in New York City. I was working on the organ sounds with much patience. I was there when Captain Beefheart started up his first band. I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime." I was there. I was the first guy playing Daft Punk to the rock kids. I played it at CBGB's. Everybody thought I was crazy. We all know. I was there. I was there. I've never been wrong.
I used to work in the record store. I had everything before anyone. I was there in the Paradise Garage DJ booth with Larry Levan. I was there in Jamaica during the great sound clashes. I woke up naked on the beach in Ibiza in 1988.
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent. And they're actually really, really nice.
I'm losing my edge.
I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody. Every great song by the Beach Boys. All the underground hits. All the Modern Lovers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Niagra record on German import. I heard that you have a white label of every seminal Detroit techno hit - 1985, '86, '87. I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your computer out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Yaz record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables.
I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records? This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, The Trojans, The Black Dice, Todd Terry, the Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harrassment, a-ha, Pere Ubu, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, the Fania All-Stars, the Bar-Kays, the Human League, the Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Monks, Niagra, Joy Division, Lower 48, the Association, Sun Ra, Scientists, Royal Trux, 10cc, Eric B. and Rakim, Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force ("just hit me"!), Juan Atkins, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil! Scott! Heron!, the Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharaoh Sandersand the Fire Engines, the Swans, the Soft Cell, the Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics. You don't know what you really want. (x15)
I can't believe how incredibly lucky I was on Tuesday! By some small miracle, I managed to snag a $25 ticket (from yet another ridiculously kind-hearted Craigslist stranger...you know who you are!) to the VERY MUCH sold out Beach House show at El Rey Theatre. This show sold out in less than 3 minutes on Cinco De Mayo &, despite writing a note in my planner AND setting an extra alarm on my phone, I still managed to miss the 10am sale start because I overslept after a crazy night at Ed Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros at The Greek the night before (concert addict chick problems...lol).
Since people are Craigslist were being greedy bastards trying to sell a single ticket for Beach House's El Rey show for as much as $100-150 PER TICKET when face value was no more than $25-30, by about 3pm Tuesday, I had given up hope. THEN the concert gods smiled upon me when I received an Email from an interested seller in response to the following ad I posted on Craigslist looking for 1 ticket for no more than $50 (which was a long shot but worth a try!):
I know this is probably a long shot since so many people have already posted WANTED ads for Beach House on Tuesday 7/3/12 at the El Rey but I figure it's still worth a shot since I'm only looking for ONE ticket. I'm praying an honest, fellow, live music fan will take pity on me & sell me 1 GA ticket for $50 or less. It's GOOD CONCERT KARMA, I swear! :-)
I'm a HUGE Beach House fan. Ever since I 1st saw them open for Grizzly Bear at the Hollywood Palladium a couple years ago, I've been madly in love with their music & I have THE biggest girl crush on Victoria Legrand <3 Plus, I'm out of town in September when Beach House is playing 2 nights in a row at The Wiltern so this is most likely the only chance I'll get to see them in 2012.
PLEASE contact me if you can help me out & I promise to pay it forward the next time I have an extra ticket to a sold out show. It's the right thing to do! ;-)
Not only did my Craigslist angel bless me with a ticket but he ALSO gave it to me for only $2This man has ALL kinds of good concert karma coming his way &, thanks to him, I got to attend my 3rd Beach House concert which proved to be the best 1 yet! I love Victoria Legrand SO much. She's incredible.
I'm SO grateful I've managed to acquire fellow live music-obsessed friends who I can occasionally call less than 4 hours before a show to rally for a wild Sunday night full of lasers, dancing & Downtown LA antics. Otherwise, THIS night wouldn't have been possible...
