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 Poland and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1964 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 synthesizer 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 The Cosmic Jokers to the punk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Sun Ra Arkestra. All the underground hits.
All The Skatalites tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Visage record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Young Marble Giants record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Youth Brigade,
Throbbing Gristle,
Sun Ra,
Sight & Sound,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
The Five Americans,
Amon Düül II,
Pantaleimon,
Fat Boys,
Negative Approach,
Hot Snakes,
Rod Modell,
Rakim,
Massinfluence,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Sister Nancy,
Scan 7,
The Cowsills,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Matthew Halsall,
Animal Collective,
Nick Fraelich,
Simply Red,
Basic Channel,
Marvin Gaye,
Brick,
Pere Ubu,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Gang Starr,
Janne Schatter,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
the Swans,
Boredoms,
Television,
The New Christs,
Jawbox,
Trumans Water,
Agitation Free,
Niagra,
Barclay James Harvest,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
T.S.O.L.,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Panda Bear,
Los Fastidios,
The Dave Clark Five,
Bill Wells,
Minny Pops,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Can,
The Fugs,
Lightning Bolt,
Pylon,
Hoover,
Quando Quango,
Sugar Minott,
Suicide,
Dead Boys,
The Evens,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Monolake,
The Divine Comedy, The Divine Comedy, The Divine Comedy, The Divine Comedy.
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.