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 Tajikistan and from Accra.
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 1965 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 marimba 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 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds to the funk kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Scrapy. All the underground hits.
All The Gun Club tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Masters at Work 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Al Stewart record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
James White and The Blacks,
Shuggie Otis,
Lou Christie,
Nico,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Ohio Players,
The Happenings,
The Buckinghams,
Neil Young,
Aloha Tigers,
The Doors,
Monolake,
The Cure,
Darondo,
Fugazi,
Ornette Coleman,
Section 25,
Q65,
Al Stewart,
Eden Ahbez,
Tears for Fears,
Bang On A Can,
Grauzone,
Quando Quango,
Isaac Hayes,
Youth Brigade,
Swans,
Jacob Miller,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Faust,
Nas,
the Soft Cell,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Pierre Henry,
Glambeats Corp.,
The Flesh Eaters,
Tom Boy,
Barbara Tucker,
Surgeon,
Bill Near,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Janne Schatter,
Neu!,
Cymande,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Siglo XX,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Magazine,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Vogues,
Lungfish,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Blackbyrds,
Motorama,
The Misunderstood,
Subhumans,
These Immortal Souls,
Ten City,
Letta Mbulu,
Blancmange,
Jeru the Damaja,
Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators.
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.