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 Malaysia and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 2001.
I was there at the first Tiga show in Montreal.
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 1968 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 American Breed to the rock 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 Organ. All the underground hits.
All Glenn Branca tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Roxy Music record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Strawberry Alarm Clock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Offenders,
Bobby Byrd,
Sex Pistols,
Deepchord,
Ohio Players,
Royal Trux,
Crash Course in Science,
The Cramps,
Stetsasonic,
The Evens,
Dennis Brown,
Derrick May,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Sister Nancy,
Erykah Badu,
Yusef Lateef,
Lucky Dragons,
Dark Day,
Gang Gang Dance,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Sparks,
Siglo XX,
Cluster,
Jandek,
Marine Girls,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Curtis Mayfield,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Sonny Sharrock,
Dawn Penn,
Jeru the Damaja,
The Monochrome Set,
Pylon,
Mission of Burma,
Big Daddy Kane,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Slackers,
Camouflage,
Eden Ahbez,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
David Axelrod,
The Star Department,
New Age Steppers,
Iggy Pop,
Wolf Eyes,
Chris Corsano,
Kerrie Biddell,
the Fania All-Stars,
the Sonics,
Grey Daturas,
X-Ray Spex,
Susan Cadogan,
Cecil Taylor,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Kenny Larkin,
Public Image Ltd.,
the Swans,
Sound Behaviour,
Khruangbin,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow.
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.