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 Jamaica and from Halifax.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1962 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Crash Course in Science to the grunge kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Sugar Minott. All the underground hits.
All Johnny Clarke tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sugar Minott record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The United States of America record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rod Modell,
Grey Daturas,
Section 25,
Dark Day,
The Saints,
Gichy Dan,
Stetsasonic,
Nation of Ulysses,
One Last Wish,
Chrome,
Tubeway Army,
Agitation Free,
Subhumans,
Andrew Hill,
Freddie Wadling,
Man Parrish,
Los Fastidios,
Boz Scaggs,
Deadbeat,
The Gap Band,
John Foxx,
Sun Ra,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Metal Thangz,
The Red Krayola,
Soul Sonic Force,
Mark Hollis,
Minny Pops,
The Zeros,
Marine Girls,
Symarip,
Malaria!,
Rosa Yemen,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Byron Stingily,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Swell Maps,
Marshall Jefferson,
Reuben Wilson,
the Human League,
Marvin Gaye,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Steve Hackett,
The Smiths,
The Slackers,
Electric Prunes,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Crispy Ambulance,
Schoolly D,
Matthew Bourne,
Magma,
Slick Rick,
Drexciya,
Robert Wyatt,
Black Sheep,
Negative Approach,
The Raincoats,
Excepter,
Ohio Players,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Easy Going, Easy Going, Easy Going, Easy Going.
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.