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 Ghana and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Beijing.
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 at the first Suicide practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Slits to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Arab on Radar. All the underground hits.
All The Saints tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Zapp record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Howard Jones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
New York Dolls,
Joe Finger,
Quadrant,
Dave Gahan,
Jandek,
FM Einheit,
Rotary Connection,
The Cowsills,
Oneida,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Kinks,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Marc Almond,
Television Personalities,
Spoonie Gee,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Jesper Dahlback,
The Divine Comedy,
Hasil Adkins,
Groovy Waters,
Babytalk,
Japan,
Rakim,
Patti Smith,
Grey Daturas,
Ronnie Foster,
John Holt,
Eric Dolphy,
R.M.O.,
Susan Cadogan,
Boz Scaggs,
Reuben Wilson,
Pagans,
Frankie Knuckles,
Lee Hazlewood,
Delon & Dalcan,
Rites of Spring,
Infiniti,
Shuggie Otis,
Ronan,
Neu!,
Althea and Donna,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
The Red Krayola,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Young Marble Giants,
EPMD,
The Monks,
The Fuzztones,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The United States of America,
Lightning Bolt,
The Toasters,
Main Source,
Lou Reed,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Skaos,
Johnny Osbourne,
Jeff Mills,
Maurizio,
X-Ray Spex,
Stiv Bators,
Erykah Badu,
The Star Department, The Star Department, The Star Department, The Star Department.
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.