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 Indonesia and from Beijing.
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 1963 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Black Dice to the rock kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 World's Most. All the underground hits.
All Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cecil Taylor 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sun City Girls record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
MDC,
Drexciya,
Kurtis Blow,
Parry Music,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
the Sonics,
Maurizio,
Jacques Brel,
Public Image Ltd.,
Eric B and Rakim,
Easy Going,
The Slits,
Procol Harum,
Ultimate Spinach,
Hashim,
Flipper,
The Doors,
Slick Rick,
Sun Ra,
Skaos,
Alison Limerick,
Bobby Womack,
Joe Smooth,
Mo-Dettes,
Gerry Rafferty,
Essential Logic,
Wire,
Niagra,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Amazonics,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Harpers Bizarre,
Agent Orange,
Oneida,
The Saints,
The Moody Blues,
Excepter,
Sight & Sound,
48th St. Collective,
The Star Department,
Lucky Dragons,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Marshall Jefferson,
Goldenarms,
Bizarre Inc.,
Marmalade,
Fatback Band,
Sun City Girls,
Spoonie Gee,
Aswad,
Monks,
The Tremeloes,
Bob Dylan,
Soft Machine,
Sister Nancy,
Fat Boys,
Minutemen,
Gang of Four,
Simply Red,
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.