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 Mongolia and from Hong Kong.
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 1968 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Houston.
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 1977 at the first Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the güiro 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 The Human League to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Jeru the Damaja. All the underground hits.
All Frankie Knuckles tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Slackers 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Flipper record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Trojans,
The Human League,
The Detroit Cobras,
Soul II Soul,
Liliput,
The Moleskins,
Simply Red,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Kevin Saunderson,
Panda Bear,
Gang Starr,
The Offenders,
Marine Girls,
Gabor Szabo,
The Litter,
Deepchord,
Drexciya,
Absolute Body Control,
The Martian,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Gichy Dan,
Bauhaus,
Y Pants,
Alice Coltrane,
The Blackbyrds,
Talk Talk,
Peter and Kerry,
The Pretty Things,
The Knickerbockers,
Wally Richardson,
Traffic Nightmare,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Soul Sonic Force,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Stiv Bators,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Marshall Jefferson,
the Normal,
Ponytail,
Arcadia,
Fela Kuti,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Skaos,
Chrome,
Henry Cow,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
La Düsseldorf,
Magazine,
Fugazi,
Make Up,
James White and The Blacks,
Terry Callier,
Bang On A Can,
Grandmaster Flash,
the Sonics,
Girls At Our Best!,
X-101,
The Divine Comedy,
Lungfish,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Yellowson, Yellowson, Yellowson, Yellowson.
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.