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 East Timor and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1963 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 1976 at the first Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Funkadelic to the disco kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Trojans. All the underground hits.
All The Fortunes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Cowsills 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Juan Atkins,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
UT,
Iggy Pop,
The Toasters,
Erykah Badu,
the Normal,
Idris Muhammad,
KRS-One,
The Red Krayola,
Goldenarms,
Slick Rick,
Average White Band,
Sonny Sharrock,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Half Japanese,
Yusef Lateef,
Gichy Dan,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Thee Headcoats,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Black Moon,
kango's stein massive,
Dave Gahan,
Henry Cow,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Invisible,
Tres Demented,
A Flock of Seagulls,
CMW,
FM Einheit,
Cluster,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Soul II Soul,
Man Parrish,
Rosa Yemen,
Porter Ricks,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Ituana,
Sexual Harrassment,
Leonard Cohen,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Arthur Verocai,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Roy Ayers,
Ronan,
Main Source,
Man Eating Sloth,
The Move,
Country Joe & The Fish,
The Vogues,
The Mojo Men,
Bizarre Inc.,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Ultra Naté,
Shoche,
Easy Going,
Arab on Radar,
Cymande,
Mark Hollis,
Smog,
Heaven 17,
Ossler, Ossler, Ossler, Ossler.
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.