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 Israel and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1968 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Tehran.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tokyo 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 clarinet 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 Bill Wells to the rap kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Crooked Eye. All the underground hits.
All The Offenders tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kaleidoscope 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 an oboe and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Associates record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Slackers,
Quadrant,
R.M.O.,
The Monochrome Set,
New Order,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Severed Heads,
Gang Starr,
Scrapy,
Judy Mowatt,
Dennis Brown,
Byron Stingily,
Rosa Yemen,
Al Stewart,
The Neon Judgement,
Marvin Gaye,
Suburban Knight,
The Invisible,
Rites of Spring,
Colin Newman,
Technova,
Shoche,
The Knickerbockers,
Crooked Eye,
Suicide,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Kaleidoscope,
Fela Kuti,
Reuben Wilson,
June of 44,
Slave,
Glambeats Corp.,
Ice-T,
The Fortunes,
Country Teasers,
Outsiders,
Talk Talk,
The Pop Group,
Das Ding,
Johnny Clarke,
X-Ray Spex,
The Young Rascals,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Carl Craig,
The Electric Prunes,
Rapeman,
Bronski Beat,
Cameo,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Groovy Waters,
Jeff Lynne,
The Raincoats,
Robert Görl,
Black Bananas,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Gerry Rafferty,
Half Japanese,
Ten City, Ten City, Ten City, Ten City.
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.