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 Liberia and from Bologna.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Underground Resistance to the crunk 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 Con Funk Shun. All the underground hits.
All Hot Snakes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Michelle Simonal record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Amazonics,
Spoonie Gee,
Subhumans,
Crooked Eye,
Johnny Clarke,
The Modern Lovers,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Radio Birdman,
Fat Boys,
London Community Gospel Choir,
The Raincoats,
Big Daddy Kane,
Sällskapet,
Eden Ahbez,
The Misunderstood,
Alison Limerick,
The Tremeloes,
Tears for Fears,
Drive Like Jehu,
Kevin Saunderson,
The Gap Band,
K-Klass,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Average White Band,
Second Layer,
Hardrive,
Duran Duran,
Crispy Ambulance,
Dave Gahan,
Harry Pussy,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Organ,
L. Decosne,
KRS-One,
Siglo XX,
Roy Ayers,
Sandy B,
CMW,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
H. Thieme,
Boogie Down Productions,
Gichy Dan,
Tom Boy,
Wasted Youth,
The Human League,
Rekid,
Quando Quango,
Eric Dolphy,
Suburban Knight,
The Dave Clark Five,
Newcleus,
Minnie Riperton,
Charles Mingus,
The Real Kids,
Grandmaster Flash,
Spandau Ballet,
Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen.
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.