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 Israel and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1961 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Sao Paulo.
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 Can to the punk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Second Layer. All the underground hits.
All The Fall tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Neon Judgement 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bad Manners record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Dirtbombs,
Marine Girls,
Tropical Tobacco,
The Stooges,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Bootsy Collins,
The Pretty Things,
Carl Craig,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Max Romeo,
Roxy Music,
Pagans,
Roger Hodgson,
Liliput,
Lyres,
Steve Hackett,
Fatback Band,
The Music Machine,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Kerrie Biddell,
Minor Threat,
Lower 48,
Wire,
Patti Smith,
Eden Ahbez,
The Happenings,
Jeff Mills,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
David Axelrod,
Mantronix,
Metal Thangz,
The Angels of Light,
Nik Kershaw,
Judy Mowatt,
Black Flag,
Johnny Clarke,
Ornette Coleman,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Human League,
Alton Ellis,
Talk Talk,
Icehouse,
Crime,
The Move,
Urselle,
Iggy Pop,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Electric Prunes,
John Foxx,
Sugar Minott,
Ossler,
Mars,
Jerry's Kids,
The Young Rascals,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Monochrome Set,
The Cramps,
Main Source,
Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt.
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.