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 Nauru and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 Donald Fagen 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 Los Fastidios to the grime kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Scratch Acid. All the underground hits.
All The Stooges tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Crispian St. Peters 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ken Boothe record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Clarke,
Pylon,
Das Ding,
Toni Rubio,
John Lydon,
Amon Düül,
The Tremeloes,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
The Pop Group,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Standells,
Pere Ubu,
Panda Bear,
Skarface,
Babytalk,
Terrestrial Tones,
New Order,
Connie Case,
Bob Dylan,
ABC,
Ohio Players,
Chrome,
The New Christs,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Wire,
Bootsy Collins,
Thompson Twins,
June of 44,
Nils Olav,
Camouflage,
kango's stein massive,
Nas,
Chris Corsano,
MDC,
John Cale,
The Angels of Light,
Second Layer,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Dawn Penn,
Wolf Eyes,
Sparks,
Bill Wells,
Pole,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Gang Starr,
Sound Behaviour,
EPMD,
Lakeside,
Fifty Foot Hose,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Sex Pistols,
Animal Collective,
Porter Ricks,
Colin Newman,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Names,
Maleditus Sound,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Matthew Halsall,
Rekid,
The Fuzztones, The Fuzztones, The Fuzztones, The Fuzztones.
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.