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 South Sudan and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1964 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Move to the rap kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Eric Dolphy. All the underground hits.
All New Age Steppers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Slave record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Marine Girls record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Joe Smooth,
Todd Terry,
Kerrie Biddell,
Black Moon,
Porter Ricks,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Tomorrow,
Stetsasonic,
New Age Steppers,
Delta 5,
Kenny Larkin,
Derrick May,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Deepchord,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Skaos,
Todd Rundgren,
Pylon,
The Barracudas,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Moss Icon,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Man Parrish,
The Gun Club,
Terry Callier,
Lucky Dragons,
David Bowie,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Surgeon,
Grey Daturas,
Eddi Front,
Shoche,
Mandrill,
Prince Buster,
Jesper Dahlback,
Nik Kershaw,
The Techniques,
Bill Wells,
Nico,
Pulsallama,
Letta Mbulu,
Harpers Bizarre,
Shuggie Otis,
Joey Negro,
Yellowson,
Rakim,
Skarface,
Ludus,
The Zeros,
Glambeats Corp.,
Wasted Youth,
Wire,
The Fugs,
Amazonics,
Severed Heads,
Infiniti,
Make Up,
Vainqueur,
Johnny Osbourne,
Rites of Spring,
Hoover,
Anthony Braxton,
Lou Christie,
The Gladiators, The Gladiators, The Gladiators, The Gladiators.
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.