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 Vanuatu and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1966 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 Chrome to the rap kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Hoover. All the underground hits.
All Neil Young tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Real Kids 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Eric Copeland record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Arab on Radar,
Buzzcocks,
Quadrant,
Quantec,
Black Bananas,
Soul Sonic Force,
The Real Kids,
Scion,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Ronnie Foster,
Minny Pops,
Donny Hathaway,
Mantronix,
The Fire Engines,
Iggy Pop,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Dawn Penn,
Slave,
Sun Ra,
Eden Ahbez,
Loose Ends,
The Index,
Whodini,
Kerrie Biddell,
The Toasters,
Sonic Youth,
Outsiders,
kango's stein massive,
Visage,
Livin' Joy,
Johnny Osbourne,
Traffic Nightmare,
Warsaw,
a-ha,
Fugazi,
Cecil Taylor,
Country Teasers,
Danielle Patucci,
Eli Mardock,
Banda Bassotti,
Scientists,
Fatback Band,
Popol Vuh,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Bobby Byrd,
Massinfluence,
DJ Sneak,
One Last Wish,
Matthew Bourne,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Ken Boothe,
The Saints,
The Shadows of Knight,
Y Pants,
Crime,
Deakin,
A Certain Ratio,
the Sonics,
Liliput,
Tropical Tobacco,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Pierre Henry,
MDC, MDC, MDC, MDC.
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.