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 Tunisia and from Shanghai.
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 1969 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Philadelphia.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Angry Samoans to the dance 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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All PIL tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Associates record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pere Ubu record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Skatalites,
CMW,
Moss Icon,
The Neon Judgement,
Suburban Knight,
Hashim,
La Düsseldorf,
Absolute Body Control,
Sexual Harrassment,
Sound Behaviour,
Gabor Szabo,
Bang On A Can,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Monks,
Accadde A,
Trumans Water,
Graham Central Station,
Wolf Eyes,
Anthony Braxton,
Blossom Toes,
Kerrie Biddell,
Loose Ends,
The Count Five,
Skriet,
The Pretty Things,
Man Parrish,
Leonard Cohen,
Amon Düül,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Delta 5,
Nick Fraelich,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Electric Prunes,
Organ,
Kevin Saunderson,
Half Japanese,
Brick,
Cluster,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The Gun Club,
Sparks,
Sarah Menescal,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
the Germs,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Rod Modell,
Joy Division,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Juan Atkins,
Matthew Halsall,
The Fugs,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Ultravox,
The Black Dice,
Roxette,
The Standells,
a-ha,
Fat Boys,
Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller.
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.