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 Vietnam and from Manchester.
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 1966 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the marimba sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Drexciya to the jazz 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 Symarip. All the underground hits.
All Qualms 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 rap 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 clarinet and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Echo & the Bunnymen record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Procol Harum,
Donny Hathaway,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
One Last Wish,
Radiohead,
Pussy Galore,
a-ha,
The Divine Comedy,
Dead Boys,
the Normal,
Eli Mardock,
Gerry Rafferty,
Eve St. Jones,
Scan 7,
Unrelated Segments,
Barrington Levy,
Dave Gahan,
Yaz,
Swell Maps,
Banda Bassotti,
Monolake,
John Holt,
Thompson Twins,
Bill Near,
Colin Newman,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Techniques,
Yusef Lateef,
Smog,
Sugar Minott,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Urselle,
X-101,
Gregory Isaacs,
Young Marble Giants,
the Human League,
Lalann,
Black Flag,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Whodini,
Harpers Bizarre,
Todd Terry,
The Fortunes,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Kerri Chandler,
Kurtis Blow,
Davy DMX,
Little Man,
Sonic Youth,
The Dirtbombs,
8 Eyed Spy,
The Buckinghams,
ABC,
Essential Logic,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Wasted Youth,
Hasil Adkins,
The Doors,
Isaac Hayes,
Scrapy,
Mark Hollis,
Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster.
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.