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 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1960 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 clarinet 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 Lizzy Mercier Descloux to the electroclash 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 Delon & Dalcan. All the underground hits.
All Aswad tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Radio Birdman record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 an arpeggiator and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a A Certain Ratio record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
David Axelrod,
The Slackers,
Chrome,
Procol Harum,
Morten Harket,
Tubeway Army,
The Evens,
Blossom Toes,
Rosa Yemen,
Magma,
X-Ray Spex,
Radiohead,
Alice Coltrane,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Piero Umiliani,
Faust,
Ultra Naté,
Rod Modell,
David McCallum,
X-101,
Slave,
Gil Scott Heron,
Ultravox,
Jacob Miller,
Scan 7,
Interpol,
Ralphi Rosario,
Mandrill,
Tropical Tobacco,
Archie Shepp,
Bob Dylan,
Charles Mingus,
Das Ding,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Jeru the Damaja,
Pulsallama,
Animal Collective,
Public Enemy,
Blancmange,
The Misunderstood,
Suicide,
Eric B and Rakim,
Harry Pussy,
Theoretical Girls,
the Soft Cell,
Quantec,
Ronan,
Flash Fearless,
Deepchord,
The Modern Lovers,
Sugar Minott,
Main Source,
Eddi Front,
ABC,
Parry Music,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Television, Television, Television, Television.
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.