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 Barbados and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1961 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 linndrum 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 Dirtbombs to the crunk 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 New Age Steppers. All the underground hits.
All Quantec tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cal Tjader record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 an oboe and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Subhumans,
Lou Reed,
The Human League,
The Grass Roots,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
The Dirtbombs,
Derrick May,
Oblivians,
China Crisis,
Neu!,
Freddie Wadling,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Deepchord,
Second Layer,
Cymande,
Rosa Yemen,
The Saints,
Girls At Our Best!,
Sandy B,
The Tremeloes,
the Sonics,
Amon Düül II,
DJ Style,
Ultimate Spinach,
Andrew Hill,
The Leaves,
Theoretical Girls,
Lakeside,
The Durutti Column,
Traffic Nightmare,
Fatback Band,
Colin Newman,
Junior Murvin,
The Detroit Cobras,
Television,
Sam Rivers,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
JFA,
Black Sheep,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Skarface,
The Sound,
Piero Umiliani,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Radio Birdman,
Index,
The Monks,
Mission of Burma,
John Holt,
Cluster,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
The Victims,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Mr. Review,
The Smoke,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Von Mondo,
Ossler,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Mark Hollis,
Nik Kershaw, Nik Kershaw, Nik Kershaw, Nik Kershaw.
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.