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 Lesotho and from Lagos.
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 1964 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Stockholm.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Magazine to the punk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Cowsills. All the underground hits.
All Patti Smith tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Chris & Cosey record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Terrestrial Tones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Residents,
The Dave Clark Five,
Half Japanese,
Motorama,
Jeru the Damaja,
The Count Five,
Marvin Gaye,
Depeche Mode,
Neu!,
Swell Maps,
the Human League,
Alphaville,
The Gun Club,
Monolake,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Bobby Byrd,
Wolf Eyes,
The Skatalites,
Wally Richardson,
Chrome,
Banda Bassotti,
Royal Trux,
The Litter,
Duran Duran,
Boogie Down Productions,
Nik Kershaw,
New York Dolls,
This Heat,
Henry Cow,
Buzzcocks,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Colin Newman,
Bluetip,
Joey Negro,
Con Funk Shun,
F. McDonald,
John Holt,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Doors,
Procol Harum,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Gerry Rafferty,
Bootsy Collins,
The Black Dice,
Don Cherry,
Barbara Tucker,
Pussy Galore,
Desert Stars,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Minny Pops,
Angry Samoans,
Aaron Thompson,
Black Bananas,
The Alarm Clocks,
Dennis Brown,
Neil Young,
Cameo,
Shuggie Otis,
The Cramps,
PIL,
John Coltrane,
Al Stewart, Al Stewart, Al Stewart, Al Stewart.
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.