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 Somalia and from Accra.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 1976 at the first Buzzcocks practice in a loft in Bolton.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Lou Christie to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Pierre Henry. All the underground hits.
All Brass Construction tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Excepter record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge 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 a harpsichord and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Joe Finger,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
The Buckinghams,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Neon Judgement,
Byron Stingily,
Juan Atkins,
Brass Construction,
Suburban Knight,
Sight & Sound,
The Tremeloes,
The Trojans,
Judy Mowatt,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Khruangbin,
The Doors,
Zapp,
Moss Icon,
Siglo XX,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Bill Wells,
LL Cool J,
The Alarm Clocks,
Interpol,
Cybotron,
Rod Modell,
Arab on Radar,
Man Eating Sloth,
Tres Demented,
Scott Walker,
Al Stewart,
The New Christs,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Maleditus Sound,
Iggy Pop,
Lightning Bolt,
Bang On A Can,
Agent Orange,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
MDC,
The Litter,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Altered Images,
Desert Stars,
Nico,
The Mummies,
cv313,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
the Slits,
Quantec,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Monolake,
The Zeros,
Nik Kershaw,
Ronnie Foster,
Jandek,
UT,
Mary Jane Girls,
Franke,
Little Man,
The Happenings,
Henry Cow,
Skaos, Skaos, Skaos, Skaos.
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.