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 Philippines and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Golliwogs to the grime 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 Roxette. All the underground hits.
All ABBA tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Angry Samoans 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Leaves record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
In Retrospect,
Flamin' Groovies,
Boz Scaggs,
The Slits,
Gang Green,
The Zeros,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Black Flag,
Half Japanese,
Motorama,
Heaven 17,
The Blues Magoos,
Delon & Dalcan,
Charles Mingus,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Fat Boys,
One Last Wish,
the Association,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
48th St. Collective,
MC5,
John Holt,
The Dead C,
The United States of America,
The Invisible,
Arcadia,
Jimmy McGriff,
Lungfish,
Soul Sonic Force,
Flash Fearless,
Wolf Eyes,
Lou Reed,
The Stooges,
Amazonics,
Chris & Cosey,
New Age Steppers,
The Wake,
Q and Not U,
Grey Daturas,
OOIOO,
Yellowson,
The Red Krayola,
Man Eating Sloth,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Suicide,
Symarip,
Ultravox,
The Associates,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
the Germs,
Soft Machine,
Ronnie Foster,
Roger Hodgson,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
John Lydon,
Sister Nancy,
Dual Sessions,
Ken Boothe,
The Smiths,
Black Moon,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Ituana,
Steve Hackett,
Lindisfarne, Lindisfarne, Lindisfarne, Lindisfarne.
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.