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 Papua New Guinea and from Lagos.
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 1965 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 1983 at the first Lewis practice in a loft in Vancouver.
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 Slits to the punk 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 Alphaville. All the underground hits.
All Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Al Stewart 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 808 and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Yazoo record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
The Mojo Men,
The Slits,
The Toasters,
New York Dolls,
Procol Harum,
Drive Like Jehu,
Porter Ricks,
La Düsseldorf,
Wolf Eyes,
Minny Pops,
The Names,
The Moleskins,
The Music Machine,
Black Sheep,
Sarah Menescal,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Rufus Thomas,
Yellowson,
Harpers Bizarre,
Massinfluence,
Crooked Eye,
Ken Boothe,
Howard Jones,
Von Mondo,
Bob Dylan,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Golliwogs,
A Certain Ratio,
Vladislav Delay,
Johnny Clarke,
Nico,
The Moody Blues,
Peter and Kerry,
ABC,
X-101,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Nirvana,
a-ha,
Roger Hodgson,
Slave,
Neil Young,
Roxy Music,
Dennis Brown,
Erykah Badu,
X-Ray Spex,
Minor Threat,
Aaron Thompson,
China Crisis,
Mr. Review,
Boz Scaggs,
Jacob Miller,
Amon Düül II,
Skaos,
Todd Terry,
Talk Talk,
The Shadows of Knight,
Dead Boys,
The Victims,
Scott Walker,
Glambeats Corp.,
Angry Samoans, Angry Samoans, Angry Samoans, Angry Samoans.
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.