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 Zambia and from Columbus.
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 1962 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 snare 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 Amazonics to the rock kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Agitation Free. All the underground hits.
All KRS-One tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every JFA record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance 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 snare and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Cramps,
Lou Reed,
Jeff Mills,
Sexual Harrassment,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Ituana,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Move,
Silicon Teens,
Masters at Work,
Sonic Youth,
The Gun Club,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Five Americans,
Metal Thangz,
Throbbing Gristle,
Hoover,
Amazonics,
Bush Tetras,
Mandrill,
Junior Murvin,
Au Pairs,
The Red Krayola,
Public Enemy,
Dead Boys,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Blancmange,
Stetsasonic,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Barrington Levy,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Reuben Wilson,
Inner City,
Sixth Finger,
The Selecter,
Quantec,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Country Teasers,
The Velvet Underground,
Accadde A,
Groovy Waters,
Ten City,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
the Human League,
Talk Talk,
Joy Division,
Roger Hodgson,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Ice-T,
Dennis Brown,
X-101,
The Fugs,
Magazine,
The Pop Group,
Tears for Fears,
Organ,
Gregory Isaacs,
Maleditus Sound,
Second Layer,
Joensuu 1685, Joensuu 1685, Joensuu 1685, Joensuu 1685.
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.