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 India and from Copenhagen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1964 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Calgary 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 organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Brothers Johnson to the dance 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 The Cowsills. All the underground hits.
All Bronski Beat tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bang On A Can 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
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 Ken Boothe record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Evens,
Fatback Band,
Organ,
The Gap Band,
Index,
The Doobie Brothers,
Theoretical Girls,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Kayak,
Intrusion,
The Shadows of Knight,
Piero Umiliani,
The Index,
UT,
Electric Prunes,
Yusef Lateef,
Marvin Gaye,
Cameo,
Tim Buckley,
Donald Byrd,
The Blues Magoos,
John Foxx,
Robert Görl,
Rufus Thomas,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Roxy Music,
Grauzone,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Nation of Ulysses,
The Seeds,
the Swans,
These Immortal Souls,
Excepter,
the Human League,
Lalo Schifrin,
ABC,
Delta 5,
Ponytail,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
MDC,
Nick Fraelich,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Frankie Knuckles,
AZ,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Divine Comedy,
Popol Vuh,
Eric B and Rakim,
Clear Light,
One Last Wish,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Lyres,
The Cure,
The Cosmic Jokers,
The Dirtbombs,
Ronan,
Vladislav Delay,
The Grass Roots,
Wally Richardson,
The Zeros,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Eden Ahbez,
Outsiders, Outsiders, Outsiders, Outsiders.
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.