Infinitely Losing My Edge
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 Mozambique and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lyon kids in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties.
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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Man Eating Sloth to the grime kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.
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 Pole. All the underground hits.
All PIL tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Metal Thangz record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Avey Tare record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jerry's Kids,
Derrick May,
the Human League,
Bill Near,
The American Breed,
Severed Heads,
Pantaleimon,
Intrusion,
Sex Pistols,
Guru Guru,
Connie Case,
The Buckinghams,
Kas Product,
The Birthday Party,
Wally Richardson,
Lucky Dragons,
Sunsets and Hearts,
The Human League,
Hoover,
Vladislav Delay,
Gang of Four,
Scrapy,
Stiv Bators,
Chris Corsano,
The Moody Blues,
Robert Görl,
Fela Kuti,
Radiohead,
Jawbox,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Bluetip,
Roy Ayers,
Ohio Players,
Tom Boy,
Slave,
The Doors,
Zero Boys,
Groovy Waters,
K-Klass,
DNA,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
The Misunderstood,
Flipper,
Mantronix,
PIL,
Bootsy Collins,
The Searchers,
Kevin Saunderson,
Qualms,
The Toasters,
The Divine Comedy,
Lower 48,
Smog,
Little Man,
Thee Headcoats,
Eric Copeland,
Subhumans,
Mark Hollis,
Cal Tjader,
Grandmaster Flash,
B.T. Express,
Archie Shepp,
Symarip, Symarip, Symarip, Symarip.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.