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 Kenya and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 spring reverb 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 Yaz to the funk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 The Trojans. All the underground hits.
All Patti Smith tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Das Ding record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 rhodes and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Cosmic Jokers record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Drexciya,
Sister Nancy,
Scott Walker,
Sly & The Family Stone,
David McCallum,
Chrome,
Jeff Mills,
Big Daddy Kane,
Khruangbin,
Brass Construction,
Ten City,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Flash Fearless,
Moby Grape,
The Blackbyrds,
D'Angelo,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Carl Craig,
Liliput,
Robert Görl,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Litter,
48th St. Collective,
The Real Kids,
R.M.O.,
Pere Ubu,
Subhumans,
June of 44,
The Moleskins,
Bluetip,
LL Cool J,
Gastr Del Sol,
The Doobie Brothers,
Black Flag,
Ronnie Foster,
Cal Tjader,
Niagra,
PIL,
The Dave Clark Five,
Amon Düül II,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Grauzone,
Basic Channel,
Quando Quango,
Kool Moe Dee,
Terry Callier,
Kas Product,
Isaac Hayes,
Nick Fraelich,
Warren Ellis,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Dual Sessions,
The Cramps,
Sixth Finger,
David Bowie,
Technova,
Jerry's Kids,
Henry Cow,
The Electric Prunes,
Qualms,
Los Fastidios,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells.
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.