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 Azerbaijan and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Chic show in New York.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Tehran.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 1976 at the first Wire practice in a loft in Watford.
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 Junior Murvin to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Sonics. All the underground hits.
All Bobby Byrd tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pagans 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Byron Stingily record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Durutti Column,
Thee Headcoats,
Black Pus,
The Gap Band,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
U.S. Maple,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Angels of Light,
Rod Modell,
Eric Dolphy,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The Move,
K-Klass,
The Pretty Things,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
The Zeros,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Fluxion,
Ossler,
The J.B.'s,
Robert Hood,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Max Romeo,
Echospace,
Juan Atkins,
Organ,
Electric Light Orchestra,
JFA,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Chrome,
Idris Muhammad,
Main Source,
Godley & Creme,
Flash Fearless,
Terry Callier,
Pantaleimon,
DJ Sneak,
Marine Girls,
Quantec,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Cymande,
Los Fastidios,
the Bar-Kays,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Ronan,
Pere Ubu,
Popol Vuh,
Ten City,
Bauhaus,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
The Mojo Men,
The Electric Prunes,
Stereo Dub,
Angry Samoans,
Bootsy Collins,
Wolf Eyes,
The Slackers,
Flipper,
PIL,
ABBA,
Ponytail, Ponytail, Ponytail, Ponytail.
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.