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 Libya and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Lewis show in Vancouver.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Cramps to the punk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 The Real Kids. All the underground hits.
All De La Soul & Jungle Brothers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Amazonics record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 guitar and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Chrome record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rakim,
Gabor Szabo,
Prince Buster,
The Moleskins,
Mark Hollis,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Grey Daturas,
The Mojo Men,
Massinfluence,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Vogues,
The Blackbyrds,
The Move,
Kas Product,
Electric Prunes,
Q and Not U,
Dave Gahan,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Delta 5,
The Slits,
Soft Cell,
The Evens,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Stooges,
Howard Jones,
Marine Girls,
The Smiths,
Johnny Clarke,
Glambeats Corp.,
DJ Sneak,
Derrick Morgan,
Kerrie Biddell,
Spoonie Gee,
Frankie Knuckles,
Ice-T,
Gang Starr,
Gong,
The Sonics,
Letta Mbulu,
Matthew Bourne,
Magazine,
The Cure,
a-ha,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Flipper,
Ornette Coleman,
Cybotron,
Tomorrow,
Marc Almond,
Qualms,
Hashim,
the Normal,
Angry Samoans,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Second Layer,
Dual Sessions,
B.T. Express,
The Beau Brummels,
Motorama,
Buzzcocks,
Henry Cow,
MC5,
The Victims,
Man Parrish, Man Parrish, Man Parrish, Man Parrish.
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.