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 East Timor and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1966 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the oboe 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 Malaria! to the crunk 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 Lungfish. All the underground hits.
All Cluster tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lakeside 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ronnie Foster record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Minutemen,
The Buckinghams,
The Pop Group,
Spoonie Gee,
Fad Gadget,
The Motions,
Junior Murvin,
Slick Rick,
The Gap Band,
Tim Buckley,
Henry Cow,
Roy Ayers,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Dave Gahan,
Jandek,
Saccharine Trust,
Kaleidoscope,
Television Personalities,
Joensuu 1685,
Kenny Larkin,
Pere Ubu,
The Invisible,
Glenn Branca,
Anthony Braxton,
Harmonia,
Erykah Badu,
Rekid,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Yellowson,
The Divine Comedy,
John Coltrane,
Echospace,
The Techniques,
The Litter,
Theoretical Girls,
ABBA,
Boz Scaggs,
Rites of Spring,
Eric Dolphy,
The Walker Brothers,
Roxy Music,
Ken Boothe,
Guru Guru,
Outsiders,
Bronski Beat,
Can,
Jawbox,
Groovy Waters,
Dark Day,
Funky Four + One,
Rhythm & Sound,
Howard Jones,
Morten Harket,
Piero Umiliani,
The Fugs,
Monks,
Hoover,
Tears for Fears,
Pantaleimon,
Radio Birdman,
the Swans,
Mr. Review,
Con Funk Shun, Con Funk Shun, Con Funk Shun, Con Funk Shun.
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.