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 Mauritania and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1980.
I was there at the first Cybotron 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 1967 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Woodstock 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 Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines to the grime 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 Arab on Radar. All the underground hits.
All Surgeon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Eric Copeland record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jandek record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gang Gang Dance,
Arab on Radar,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Roxy Music,
Kool Moe Dee,
The Angels of Light,
L. Decosne,
The Last Poets,
the Swans,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Birthday Party,
Gang Green,
Dorothy Ashby,
Technova,
The Searchers,
Hardrive,
David Axelrod,
Sun City Girls,
Peter and Kerry,
Stereo Dub,
Soul II Soul,
Big Daddy Kane,
the Human League,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Ornette Coleman,
Bob Dylan,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Kenny Larkin,
The Litter,
Robert Görl,
Joensuu 1685,
The Pop Group,
Janne Schatter,
48th St. Collective,
Avey Tare,
UT,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Dead C,
David Bowie,
Radiopuhelimet,
Slick Rick,
Nico,
Johnny Clarke,
Ludus,
Minny Pops,
James White and The Blacks,
the Germs,
LL Cool J,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Bauhaus,
Tim Buckley,
The Trojans,
Pantaleimon,
Echospace,
Hasil Adkins,
Jerry's Kids,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Ultravox,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Susan Cadogan,
Andrew Hill,
Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel.
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.