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 Mali and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 1962 at the first Guess Who practice in a loft in Winnipeg.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Althea and Donna to the rap kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson. All the underground hits.
All Ponytail tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Porter Ricks 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 a mellotron and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Sisters of Mercy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jimmy McGriff,
Inner City,
Wire,
Johnny Clarke,
Stiv Bators,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Mandrill,
The Modern Lovers,
Aswad,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Marvin Gaye,
Television,
The Names,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Minutemen,
June Days,
Peter and Kerry,
the Fania All-Stars,
U.S. Maple,
The Gories,
Eric B and Rakim,
The American Breed,
Colin Newman,
Parry Music,
Erykah Badu,
Symarip,
Moebius,
Radiohead,
Rod Modell,
Howard Jones,
The Buckinghams,
Joey Negro,
John Cale,
The Tremeloes,
Bang On A Can,
The Sound,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Banda Bassotti,
Ludus,
JFA,
Brass Construction,
The Star Department,
Von Mondo,
Roger Hodgson,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Kayak,
Deepchord,
Babytalk,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Kaleidoscope,
Grey Daturas,
Outsiders,
The Smiths,
Eric Dolphy,
Crooked Eye,
Robert Hood,
The Trojans,
Amazonics,
Depeche Mode,
The Detroit Cobras,
the Human League, the Human League, the Human League, the Human League.
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.