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 Slovenia and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1968 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Taipei 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 synthesizer 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 Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience to the crunk 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 Kerrie Biddell. All the underground hits.
All Cecil Taylor tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Blossom Toes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ronan record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Blackbyrds,
The Slits,
Glenn Branca,
Hoover,
Smog,
The Vogues,
The Neon Judgement,
Rakim,
Mark Hollis,
Joyce Sims,
The Skatalites,
The Kinks,
Neil Young,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Jacques Brel,
X-102,
Quando Quango,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Pet Shop Boys,
Davy DMX,
The Red Krayola,
Minutemen,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Cecil Taylor,
AZ,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Invisible,
Roxette,
The Five Americans,
the Fania All-Stars,
the Association,
Mr. Review,
Black Pus,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
the Bar-Kays,
The Shadows of Knight,
This Heat,
Ice-T,
Harry Pussy,
CMW,
Jeff Lynne,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
The United States of America,
Roger Hodgson,
Television,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Heaven 17,
Hasil Adkins,
Sexual Harrassment,
Bob Dylan,
Essential Logic,
Cluster,
Audionom,
Amon Düül,
Marvin Gaye,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Kayak,
Charles Mingus,
Alton Ellis,
T.S.O.L.,
David Bowie,
Pussy Galore, Pussy Galore, Pussy Galore, Pussy Galore.
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.