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 Turkmenistan and from Houston.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 guitar 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 Excepter to the rap kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam. All the underground hits.
All Ultimate Spinach tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Gil Scott Heron 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James Chance & The Contortions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Skriet,
UT,
New Age Steppers,
Pagans,
Dark Day,
The Motions,
Cheater Slicks,
Siglo XX,
The Vogues,
Barry Ungar,
Bush Tetras,
DJ Style,
The Pretty Things,
Arthur Verocai,
the Association,
Albert Ayler,
the Fania All-Stars,
Maleditus Sound,
Gong,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
the Human League,
Barrington Levy,
Josef K,
Smog,
Symarip,
Simply Red,
Moebius,
Sonic Youth,
Dual Sessions,
Sister Nancy,
Erasure,
F. McDonald,
Big Daddy Kane,
Eurythmics,
Livin' Joy,
Aswad,
La Düsseldorf,
The Fire Engines,
Lebanon Hanover,
Black Moon,
Charles Mingus,
Joe Smooth,
Sun Ra,
The Associates,
Drive Like Jehu,
Nas,
Barbara Tucker,
Masters at Work,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Leonard Cohen,
the Sonics,
The Stooges,
The Searchers,
Crispian St. Peters,
Blancmange,
Soulsonic Force,
Joyce Sims,
Moss Icon,
Jeff Lynne,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Heaven 17,
Joe Finger, Joe Finger, Joe Finger, Joe Finger.
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.