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 Cyprus and from London.
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 1961 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
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 Skatalites to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. All the underground hits.
All Mad Mike tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Oblivians record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Qualms record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Agent Orange,
Ohio Players,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Chrome,
PIL,
Jerry's Kids,
The Doors,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Cymande,
OOIOO,
Marvin Gaye,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
The Tremeloes,
David Axelrod,
Lucky Dragons,
Crooked Eye,
Bob Dylan,
Buzzcocks,
The Red Krayola,
The Kinks,
Gang Green,
the Sonics,
Bill Near,
Talk Talk,
Desert Stars,
One Last Wish,
Kool Moe Dee,
Avey Tare,
Black Sheep,
MC5,
The Sonics,
Spoonie Gee,
Swell Maps,
the Slits,
Underground Resistance,
X-101,
Derrick May,
the Human League,
Amon Düül,
Quando Quango,
Khruangbin,
The Music Machine,
Josef K,
The Mojo Men,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Laurel Aitken,
Roger Hodgson,
Piero Umiliani,
The Move,
Rosa Yemen,
In Retrospect,
Aaron Thompson,
The Searchers,
Section 25,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Litter,
The Invisible,
Roxette,
Lou Christie,
Ralphi Rosario,
Rapeman,
the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays.
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.