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 Cameroon and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1969 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 Michael McDonald 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 New Order to the grunge 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 Sun City Girls. All the underground hits.
All Talk Talk tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Josef K 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Funky Four + One record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Osbourne,
Albert Ayler,
The Names,
Junior Murvin,
The Happenings,
Gang Gang Dance,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Lou Reed,
Eddi Front,
Rekid,
The Birthday Party,
Archie Shepp,
Ituana,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Echospace,
The J.B.'s,
Funky Four + One,
Clear Light,
Underground Resistance,
John Holt,
Television Personalities,
Visage,
Grandmaster Flash,
Black Pus,
Stetsasonic,
Gabor Szabo,
Accadde A,
David McCallum,
Bush Tetras,
Negative Approach,
Anthony Braxton,
Flipper,
Iggy Pop,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Lalo Schifrin,
Idris Muhammad,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Desert Stars,
Arcadia,
Fugazi,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Grauzone,
The Slackers,
The Stooges,
The Five Americans,
the Soft Cell,
Young Marble Giants,
Man Parrish,
Gregory Isaacs,
Peter & Gordon,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
The American Breed,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Basic Channel,
Public Enemy,
Pantaleimon,
Marcia Griffiths,
Mantronix,
Joy Division,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
June of 44,
Loose Ends,
The Busters,
Talk Talk,
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.