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 Nicaragua and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 Paris and Tehran.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Judy Mowatt to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Minutemen. All the underground hits.
All Sister Nancy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Crooked Eye record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bad Manners record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Swans,
Gang Green,
Barbara Tucker,
Average White Band,
The Martian,
The Red Krayola,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Cal Tjader,
The Remains,
Jerry's Kids,
Rites of Spring,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Skatalites,
Goldenarms,
MC5,
Sun Ra,
Masters at Work,
The Motions,
Scrapy,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Rosa Yemen,
Bootsy Collins,
Man Parrish,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
The Stooges,
Desert Stars,
Essential Logic,
Nils Olav,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Outsiders,
The Slackers,
The Moleskins,
Spandau Ballet,
Archie Shepp,
Pussy Galore,
Connie Case,
Qualms,
The Fuzztones,
Drive Like Jehu,
The Techniques,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Talk Talk,
Skarface,
Neu!,
Reagan Youth,
Whodini,
Grandmaster Flash,
A Certain Ratio,
The American Breed,
Technova,
Girls At Our Best!,
Young Marble Giants,
The Saints,
Pharoah Sanders,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Kool Moe Dee,
Swans,
The Pretty Things,
Sun City Girls,
Throbbing Gristle,
Nirvana, Nirvana, Nirvana, Nirvana.
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.