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 Tuvalu and from Houston.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 1965 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Portland.
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 sitar 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 Lonnie Liston Smith to the crunk 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 Niagra. All the underground hits.
All Arab on Radar tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Scan 7 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ten City record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Colin Newman,
Von Mondo,
Intrusion,
Funkadelic,
Harmonia,
Lungfish,
E-Dancer,
Nation of Ulysses,
Reagan Youth,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Ash Ra Tempel,
The Durutti Column,
Yazoo,
Avey Tare,
Section 25,
Connie Case,
Theoretical Girls,
Unwound,
The Searchers,
Grey Daturas,
Essential Logic,
the Fania All-Stars,
June of 44,
Blake Baxter,
PIL,
Joy Division,
Glambeats Corp.,
Nik Kershaw,
The Golliwogs,
Tears for Fears,
Ronnie Foster,
Angry Samoans,
The Busters,
EPMD,
Goldenarms,
Depeche Mode,
The Monks,
Joey Negro,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Last Poets,
Ituana,
Nirvana,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
New Order,
Freddie Wadling,
Youth Brigade,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
The Grass Roots,
Archie Shepp,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Thompson Twins,
DJ Style,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Associates,
The Count Five,
Babytalk,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Vainqueur,
John Cale, John Cale, John Cale, John Cale.
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.