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 Croatia and from Beijing.
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 1969 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
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 Yellowson to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Monochrome Set. All the underground hits.
All Swans tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Roger Hodgson 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 chamberlin and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Country Joe & The Fish record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Searchers,
the Normal,
X-Ray Spex,
Altered Images,
Camberwell Now,
The Fugs,
Sarah Menescal,
Joyce Sims,
Kenny Larkin,
Juan Atkins,
Drexciya,
E-Dancer,
The American Breed,
Kool Moe Dee,
The Evens,
Fatback Band,
Monolake,
Tres Demented,
H. Thieme,
Kurtis Blow,
the Slits,
June Days,
Infiniti,
Pantytec,
Ohio Players,
Television Personalities,
Hardrive,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Tears for Fears,
Sun Ra,
Funkadelic,
The Velvet Underground,
Fugazi,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Hashim,
Second Layer,
Prince Buster,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Curtis Mayfield,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Bang On A Can,
Lou Reed,
Radiopuhelimet,
Blake Baxter,
The Birthday Party,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Fuzztones,
The Cramps,
Q and Not U,
David Bowie,
Thee Headcoats,
Liliput,
the Bar-Kays,
Bill Wells,
Reagan Youth,
DJ Sneak,
Todd Rundgren,
Urselle,
The Vogues,
Unrelated Segments,
John Coltrane,
Niagra,
Agent Orange, Agent Orange, Agent Orange, Agent Orange.
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.