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 Venezuela and from Johannesburg.
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 1961 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Glenn Branca to the rock 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 The Five Americans. All the underground hits.
All Al Stewart tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Doobie Brothers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Symarip 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?
Mad Mike,
Grauzone,
Masters at Work,
The Grass Roots,
Andrew Hill,
Echospace,
Sonic Youth,
The Red Krayola,
Black Bananas,
Pet Shop Boys,
In Retrospect,
Silicon Teens,
Jesper Dahlback,
Crash Course in Science,
New York Dolls,
Leonard Cohen,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
The Dirtbombs,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
World's Most,
Al Stewart,
Brick,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Metal Thangz,
Johnny Clarke,
the Normal,
Blossom Toes,
The Fortunes,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Depeche Mode,
Jawbox,
Royal Trux,
The Offenders,
Hashim,
Mars,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Organ,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Jerry's Kids,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Neon Judgement,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The Birthday Party,
Rekid,
The Last Poets,
The Dead C,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Magma,
Half Japanese,
Minny Pops,
The Seeds,
Porter Ricks,
The Walker Brothers,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Selecter,
Grandmaster Flash,
Angry Samoans,
Donald Byrd,
Radio Birdman,
The Raincoats,
Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu.
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.