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 Rwanda and from Tokyo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1968 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Justin Hinds & The Dominoes to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Harry Pussy. All the underground hits.
All Todd Rundgren tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Sound record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lightning Bolt record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
June of 44,
The Electric Prunes,
Mission of Burma,
DJ Sneak,
The Martian,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Moleskins,
Cecil Taylor,
Maleditus Sound,
Ice-T,
Matthew Bourne,
Man Eating Sloth,
Gang of Four,
The Star Department,
Rufus Thomas,
Bronski Beat,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Inner City,
Jawbox,
EPMD,
The Gap Band,
Unwound,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Gregory Isaacs,
Cal Tjader,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Talk Talk,
Kayak,
Gang Green,
Tomorrow,
The Monochrome Set,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Ken Boothe,
Q65,
Sound Behaviour,
Darondo,
The Litter,
Minor Threat,
Hot Snakes,
Electric Prunes,
In Retrospect,
Kerrie Biddell,
Man Parrish,
Rosa Yemen,
Wally Richardson,
Lalo Schifrin,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
The Blues Magoos,
Matthew Halsall,
Joey Negro,
Scratch Acid,
Yazoo,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
The Music Machine,
Erykah Badu,
Sonic Youth,
Heaven 17,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Ossler,
June Days,
a-ha,
Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flash.
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.