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 Libya and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Throbbing Gristle show in London.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Sound Behaviour to the punk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Organ. All the underground hits.
All Toni Rubio tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pharoah Sanders 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Man Parrish record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Aswad,
Minutemen,
Section 25,
Black Flag,
Stiv Bators,
Lightning Bolt,
Soft Machine,
Sister Nancy,
The Barracudas,
Monolake,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Audionom,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Mark Hollis,
Lou Christie,
Ronan,
James Chance & The Contortions,
R.M.O.,
Letta Mbulu,
The Smiths,
Sexual Harrassment,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Pantaleimon,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Tom Boy,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Trumans Water,
Stereo Dub,
Accadde A,
Eric B and Rakim,
These Immortal Souls,
Franke,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Newcleus,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Los Fastidios,
Aloha Tigers,
The Victims,
Nirvana,
Jeff Lynne,
Nico,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Joe Finger,
Charles Mingus,
Altered Images,
The Litter,
Kayak,
A Certain Ratio,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Goldenarms,
Alison Limerick,
The Birthday Party,
Davy DMX,
Stetsasonic,
Rod Modell,
Barrington Levy,
Kerri Chandler,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Von Mondo,
KRS-One, KRS-One, KRS-One, KRS-One.
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.