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 Japan and from Accra.
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 1965 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Calgary.
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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Slits to the grunge 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 Cybotron. All the underground hits.
All Cal Tjader tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Trojans record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Swell Maps record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sister Nancy,
Porter Ricks,
The Stooges,
Davy DMX,
Aural Exciters,
Young Marble Giants,
Massinfluence,
The Evens,
Youth Brigade,
David Bowie,
Radiopuhelimet,
Gang Green,
Al Stewart,
Black Sheep,
Warren Ellis,
The Searchers,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Glambeats Corp.,
The Shadows of Knight,
Wire,
The Slackers,
Icehouse,
Roger Hodgson,
Fat Boys,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Deepchord,
Harpers Bizarre,
Quando Quango,
Quantec,
The Motions,
Flash Fearless,
Pet Shop Boys,
Joy Division,
Mad Mike,
Vladislav Delay,
Janne Schatter,
Marmalade,
Jacob Miller,
Underground Resistance,
Kool Moe Dee,
Crooked Eye,
Desert Stars,
Rufus Thomas,
The Monks,
8 Eyed Spy,
The Trojans,
These Immortal Souls,
The Human League,
Prince Buster,
Gastr Del Sol,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Public Image Ltd.,
Fugazi,
The Zeros,
Godley & Creme,
Tubeway Army,
Michelle Simonal,
Dennis Brown,
Von Mondo,
Iggy Pop,
The Victims, The Victims, The Victims, The Victims.
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.