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 Micronesia and from Bologna.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Woodstock and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Swans to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic. All the underground hits.
All Jesper Dahlback tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Wake 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Unwound record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Andrew Hill,
Josef K,
Joe Finger,
UT,
Ituana,
The Saints,
the Normal,
Nick Fraelich,
The Smoke,
Cameo,
Rufus Thomas,
AZ,
Mark Hollis,
Delon & Dalcan,
Intrusion,
Flash Fearless,
Tim Buckley,
The Wake,
Frankie Knuckles,
The Motions,
Ornette Coleman,
Das Ding,
Agent Orange,
Metal Thangz,
The Raincoats,
Crispian St. Peters,
Barbara Tucker,
Gichy Dan,
Gang Starr,
Public Enemy,
Joy Division,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Au Pairs,
In Retrospect,
Sam Rivers,
U.S. Maple,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Black Moon,
FM Einheit,
Colin Newman,
the Swans,
One Last Wish,
the Bar-Kays,
The Busters,
Easy Going,
Severed Heads,
A Certain Ratio,
Pharoah Sanders,
Japan,
Grey Daturas,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Khruangbin,
Moby Grape,
Dawn Penn,
The Durutti Column,
The Music Machine,
Youth Brigade,
DNA,
Ten City,
CMW,
Flipper, Flipper, Flipper, Flipper.
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.