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 Mali and from Houston.
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 1966 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Pulsallama to the grunge 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 Eli Mardock. All the underground hits.
All Thompson Twins tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Wire record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Royal Trux,
The Saints,
Jesper Dahlback,
Basic Channel,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Hardrive,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Das Ding,
The Sound,
Robert Görl,
The Human League,
Arab on Radar,
Kerrie Biddell,
Jacob Miller,
Stereo Dub,
The Modern Lovers,
Bush Tetras,
Model 500,
Janne Schatter,
Silicon Teens,
The Moleskins,
Kaleidoscope,
JFA,
Von Mondo,
Eve St. Jones,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Ice-T,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Lower 48,
Masters at Work,
the Fania All-Stars,
H. Thieme,
Deakin,
Sparks,
B.T. Express,
The Associates,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Scan 7,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Ossler,
Ohio Players,
Public Image Ltd.,
Index,
Sound Behaviour,
Roxy Music,
Ponytail,
Siglo XX,
Excepter,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Ken Boothe,
Wasted Youth,
Maleditus Sound,
Outsiders,
The Fire Engines,
X-101,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Stockholm Monsters,
The Standells,
Bluetip,
This Heat,
Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar.
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.