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 Turkmenistan and from Halifax.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1967 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Normal to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Pulsallama. All the underground hits.
All Agitation Free tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cybotron 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Steve Hackett record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
James Chance & The Contortions,
The Count Five,
Joy Division,
Morten Harket,
Delta 5,
Khruangbin,
The Golliwogs,
Niagra,
The Names,
Big Daddy Kane,
Stereo Dub,
Faraquet,
Brothers Johnson,
Unwound,
the Human League,
Josef K,
Banda Bassotti,
Pet Shop Boys,
The Wake,
Tomorrow,
Slick Rick,
the Association,
Ultra Naté,
Mary Jane Girls,
Scratch Acid,
The Barracudas,
The Pop Group,
Das Ding,
Main Source,
JFA,
Sparks,
Ten City,
Chris Corsano,
Maurizio,
Siglo XX,
Anthony Braxton,
Danielle Patucci,
Make Up,
Idris Muhammad,
Ohio Players,
cv313,
Mission of Burma,
Ponytail,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Rekid,
Fear,
The Slackers,
Hoover,
Skarface,
Monks,
The Last Poets,
T. Rex,
Avey Tare,
Jawbox,
The Raincoats,
the Germs,
Y Pants,
Arab on Radar,
The Red Krayola,
A Certain Ratio,
Piero Umiliani, Piero Umiliani, Piero Umiliani, Piero Umiliani.
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.