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 Belgium and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1962 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 synthesizer 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 Henry Cow to the jazz 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 Normal. All the underground hits.
All Hasil Adkins tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Fugs 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a T. Rex record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Agent Orange,
The Moleskins,
Pere Ubu,
The Selecter,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Eric Copeland,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Monks,
Bizarre Inc.,
Byron Stingily,
Radio Birdman,
LL Cool J,
Skarface,
New York Dolls,
Laurel Aitken,
The Skatalites,
ABC,
Jerry's Kids,
Ultravox,
Talk Talk,
The Monks,
Make Up,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Gang of Four,
8 Eyed Spy,
Lower 48,
Motorama,
The Smoke,
Pylon,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Quadrant,
Swell Maps,
James White and The Blacks,
Crispy Ambulance,
Rufus Thomas,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
10cc,
Josef K,
the Fania All-Stars,
Cal Tjader,
The Gun Club,
The Dave Clark Five,
Alison Limerick,
T.S.O.L.,
Bush Tetras,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
F. McDonald,
The American Breed,
Lindisfarne,
The Vogues,
Lalann,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Blues Magoos,
Bill Near,
The Slackers,
Howard Jones,
Icehouse,
the Human League,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The Sound,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Jeff Mills, Jeff Mills, Jeff Mills, Jeff Mills.
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.