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 Russia and from Accra.
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 1964 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Winnipeg 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Skriet. All the underground hits.
All The Vogues tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jawbox record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance 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 harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Basic Channel record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Reagan Youth,
MC5,
The Gladiators,
The Angels of Light,
Scott Walker,
New York Dolls,
Graham Central Station,
Anthony Braxton,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Deadbeat,
Max Romeo,
Model 500,
the Fania All-Stars,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Symarip,
Gang Gang Dance,
Ten City,
Zero Boys,
Junior Murvin,
Traffic Nightmare,
Colin Newman,
The Sound,
Minnie Riperton,
Bobby Sherman,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Ituana,
Bad Manners,
Harry Pussy,
Simply Red,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Sister Nancy,
The Gories,
Hardrive,
Depeche Mode,
Terrestrial Tones,
The Seeds,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Shuggie Otis,
Faraquet,
Dawn Penn,
Alice Coltrane,
Barclay James Harvest,
Skarface,
Harpers Bizarre,
48th St. Collective,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
David Axelrod,
Marine Girls,
Amon Düül II,
Throbbing Gristle,
Grey Daturas,
The Selecter,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Deepchord,
Joyce Sims,
Kerrie Biddell,
Crooked Eye,
Joensuu 1685,
The Slackers,
Alton Ellis,
Patti Smith,
Cymande,
Quantec, Quantec, Quantec, Quantec.
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.