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 Belarus and from Tokyo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Chic show in New York.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Vogues to the dance 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 Scion. All the underground hits.
All Jeff Lynne tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pylon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Warren Ellis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
In Retrospect,
Interpol,
Chrome,
Byron Stingily,
Gong,
Procol Harum,
Zapp,
The Five Americans,
Niagra,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Graham Central Station,
Ice-T,
Tropical Tobacco,
Deakin,
The Techniques,
The Index,
Amon Düül II,
Country Teasers,
John Holt,
Juan Atkins,
Hasil Adkins,
Sound Behaviour,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Derrick Morgan,
Danielle Patucci,
The Knickerbockers,
Babytalk,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The Fall,
Rotary Connection,
Blake Baxter,
Cymande,
Grauzone,
Bang On A Can,
The Moody Blues,
Al Stewart,
48th St. Collective,
UT,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Altered Images,
Michelle Simonal,
Man Eating Sloth,
These Immortal Souls,
Scrapy,
Minnie Riperton,
Eric Dolphy,
Lindisfarne,
Mission of Burma,
the Soft Cell,
Neu!,
JFA,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Sight & Sound,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Kevin Saunderson,
Soft Cell,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Man Parrish,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
The Gun Club,
The Golliwogs,
Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling.
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.