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 Rwanda and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in London.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Surgeon to the grime 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 The Mojo Men. All the underground hits.
All Johnny Clarke tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Stockholm Monsters record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Avey Tare record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Five Americans,
Little Man,
This Heat,
Cameo,
Camberwell Now,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Lightning Bolt,
The Red Krayola,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Black Bananas,
Lou Christie,
The Sisters of Mercy,
The Happenings,
Goldenarms,
the Fania All-Stars,
Radiohead,
The Raincoats,
Visage,
Ronan,
Silicon Teens,
Don Cherry,
Harmonia,
B.T. Express,
Symarip,
Adolescents,
June of 44,
John Holt,
Yellowson,
Ultra Naté,
Negative Approach,
Joensuu 1685,
James White and The Blacks,
Intrusion,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Essential Logic,
Black Sheep,
Youth Brigade,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
The Names,
Pagans,
Motorama,
U.S. Maple,
the Swans,
The Count Five,
Steve Hackett,
A Certain Ratio,
Parry Music,
The Blackbyrds,
Kerri Chandler,
Mission of Burma,
Throbbing Gristle,
8 Eyed Spy,
Tres Demented,
Neil Young,
The Buckinghams,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Blake Baxter,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Prince Buster,
Marshall Jefferson,
Sugar Minott,
Boz Scaggs,
Fatback Band, Fatback Band, Fatback Band, Fatback Band.
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.