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 Kiribati and from Columbus.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tokyo 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 linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Eyeless In Gaza to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Suicide. All the underground hits.
All The Martian tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Nils Olav record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ultra Naté record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Matthew Halsall,
the Slits,
Arthur Verocai,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Letta Mbulu,
New York Dolls,
Curtis Mayfield,
Grandmaster Flash,
the Human League,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Radiopuhelimet,
Franke,
The Birthday Party,
Section 25,
Flamin' Groovies,
Tropical Tobacco,
Ituana,
Spoonie Gee,
The Last Poets,
Joey Negro,
Josef K,
Inner City,
Frankie Knuckles,
Patti Smith,
Rekid,
Crispy Ambulance,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Colin Newman,
The Buckinghams,
Metal Thangz,
The American Breed,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Fortunes,
Sight & Sound,
Masters at Work,
Pussy Galore,
X-Ray Spex,
The Grass Roots,
Stiv Bators,
Aloha Tigers,
Chrome,
K-Klass,
Depeche Mode,
the Germs,
LL Cool J,
Camberwell Now,
Animal Collective,
The Count Five,
Radio Birdman,
Guru Guru,
Chris & Cosey,
Excepter,
Eric Copeland,
Donald Byrd,
Grey Daturas,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
New Age Steppers,
Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells.
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.