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 Qatar and from Taipei.
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 1969 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Mumbai.
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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Art Ensemble Of Chicago to the funk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Rites of Spring. All the underground hits.
All Teenage Jesus and the Jerks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Rites of Spring 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 guitar and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Flesh Eaters record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Youth Brigade,
Erykah Badu,
The Buckinghams,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Marc Almond,
The Velvet Underground,
Banda Bassotti,
Todd Terry,
June Days,
Sun City Girls,
Sight & Sound,
Dual Sessions,
Hoover,
Black Bananas,
Pharoah Sanders,
Soul II Soul,
Gang Gang Dance,
Accadde A,
Eden Ahbez,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Gastr Del Sol,
Be Bop Deluxe,
the Human League,
Joe Smooth,
Hashim,
Peter and Kerry,
The Durutti Column,
Q and Not U,
Faust,
Con Funk Shun,
the Association,
The Real Kids,
Ten City,
the Swans,
Organ,
Beasts of Bourbon,
The Mighty Diamonds,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Blues Magoos,
The Stooges,
Idris Muhammad,
Average White Band,
the Sonics,
One Last Wish,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Scion,
The Flesh Eaters,
Patti Smith,
Fatback Band,
Joey Negro,
Minutemen,
Monolake,
The Human League,
John Holt,
Alton Ellis,
Eurythmics,
Magma,
Deepchord,
JFA, JFA, JFA, JFA.
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.