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 Bolivia and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1963 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Houston.
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 theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Jesper Dahlback to the rock 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 Visage. All the underground hits.
All The Raincoats tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kurtis Blow 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a snare 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 clarinet and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Big Daddy Kane,
Cybotron,
Dead Boys,
Boogie Down Productions,
EPMD,
Moebius,
Bill Near,
The Alarm Clocks,
Lindisfarne,
Darondo,
Moby Grape,
Los Fastidios,
The American Breed,
The Last Poets,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Audionom,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Ludus,
Angry Samoans,
Nik Kershaw,
Scrapy,
Desert Stars,
Blancmange,
The Vogues,
The Move,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Donny Hathaway,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
The Moody Blues,
A Certain Ratio,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Public Enemy,
Malaria!,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Victims,
Todd Rundgren,
Rapeman,
The Young Rascals,
Jawbox,
Throbbing Gristle,
Cal Tjader,
Monolake,
ABC,
The Black Dice,
Scratch Acid,
Brand Nubian,
Eddi Front,
Kaleidoscope,
Bronski Beat,
Eurythmics,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Saccharine Trust,
Tres Demented,
Parry Music,
Avey Tare,
Peter and Kerry,
Zapp,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Terry Callier,
Aloha Tigers,
Hasil Adkins, Hasil Adkins, Hasil Adkins, Hasil Adkins.
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.