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 Zambia and from Portland.
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 1964 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 The Mummies to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Eurythmics. All the underground hits.
All Massinfluence tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Alphaville record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a X-Ray Spex record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
A Certain Ratio,
In Retrospect,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Trumans Water,
Fatback Band,
10cc,
Hashim,
The Index,
The Doobie Brothers,
Lebanon Hanover,
The Five Americans,
Carl Craig,
The Black Dice,
Spandau Ballet,
Magazine,
Flipper,
Symarip,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Mummies,
Inner City,
Quadrant,
Dorothy Ashby,
Drive Like Jehu,
Gerry Rafferty,
Marc Almond,
Jawbox,
Grey Daturas,
The Misunderstood,
the Sonics,
the Germs,
Colin Newman,
Bobby Womack,
Juan Atkins,
The Flesh Eaters,
Harmonia,
Aaron Thompson,
Stiv Bators,
John Foxx,
the Normal,
Television,
Saccharine Trust,
Mark Hollis,
Public Image Ltd.,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Yusef Lateef,
The Monochrome Set,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Whodini,
Boogie Down Productions,
Chris Corsano,
Kaleidoscope,
Jandek,
The Remains,
The Slackers,
Liliput,
Patti Smith,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Black Flag,
Soul II Soul,
The Selecter, The Selecter, The Selecter, The Selecter.
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.