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 South Africa and from Madrid.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the guitar 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 Bang on a Can All-Stars to the rap kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Yellowson. All the underground hits.
All The American Breed tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Brass Construction record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 chamberlin and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Freddie Wadling record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Chocolate Watch Band,
The Fugs,
Black Bananas,
The Divine Comedy,
X-Ray Spex,
The Raincoats,
Jeff Lynne,
Kas Product,
DJ Sneak,
Basic Channel,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Stereo Dub,
Bang On A Can,
Nas,
ABC,
Eric Dolphy,
Urselle,
The Dirtbombs,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Jeru the Damaja,
In Retrospect,
Leonard Cohen,
The Blues Magoos,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Dual Sessions,
Bobby Byrd,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Cymande,
Suburban Knight,
Yellowson,
Absolute Body Control,
Q and Not U,
Neu!,
The Blackbyrds,
Con Funk Shun,
The Cure,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Sugar Minott,
Alphaville,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Electric Prunes,
Deepchord,
Sam Rivers,
Pussy Galore,
Radiopuhelimet,
Animal Collective,
48th St. Collective,
Soul Sonic Force,
Spandau Ballet,
Shoche,
Mo-Dettes,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
The Grass Roots,
Agitation Free,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
The Zeros,
Grandmaster Flash,
Danielle Patucci,
Fat Boys,
The Gun Club,
Quadrant, Quadrant, Quadrant, Quadrant.
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.