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 Philippines and from Tokyo.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Glasgow 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 güiro 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 Skatalites to the grunge kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Kings Of Tomorrow tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Red Krayola 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Shadows of Knight record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Junior Murvin,
Suicide,
Monks,
Bill Wells,
Magazine,
Tim Buckley,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
The Zeros,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Quadrant,
Marvin Gaye,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Scion,
The Monks,
The Associates,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Ponytail,
Darondo,
Inner City,
PIL,
The Saints,
Joy Division,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
The Index,
Faust,
Television,
Basic Channel,
Nas,
Skaos,
Aloha Tigers,
Panda Bear,
The Tremeloes,
Sound Behaviour,
X-101,
Skriet,
Echospace,
Gabor Szabo,
The Blues Magoos,
Mantronix,
Subhumans,
Essential Logic,
MC5,
K-Klass,
Brothers Johnson,
John Lydon,
Anakelly,
Robert Hood,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Golliwogs,
a-ha,
Gerry Rafferty,
Derrick May,
Neu!,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Cal Tjader,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Los Fastidios,
Dennis Brown,
Barry Ungar,
Brass Construction,
Black Pus, Black Pus, Black Pus, Black Pus.
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.