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 Solomon Islands and from Delhi.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1960 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 Throbbing Gristle practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 the Fania All-Stars to the dance 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 The Jesus and Mary Chain. All the underground hits.
All Delta 5 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Niagra record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 a sitar and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Flamin' Groovies record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
James Chance & The Contortions,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Excepter,
The New Christs,
Smog,
The Leaves,
The Blackbyrds,
The Birthday Party,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Charles Mingus,
Dorothy Ashby,
June Days,
The Monks,
Girls At Our Best!,
Matthew Bourne,
Eddi Front,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Real Kids,
Josef K,
Black Bananas,
Patti Smith,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Scientists,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Half Japanese,
Pantaleimon,
The Happenings,
Leonard Cohen,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Whodini,
The Moleskins,
Mad Mike,
Bill Wells,
Matthew Halsall,
Subhumans,
The Velvet Underground,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Stiv Bators,
Juan Atkins,
Zapp,
Nation of Ulysses,
Joe Finger,
Gang Green,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Joey Negro,
Mark Hollis,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Oblivians,
Television Personalities,
John Cale,
Kool Moe Dee,
Chrome,
Moebius,
CMW,
Rod Modell,
Radiohead,
Arthur Verocai,
Wolf Eyes,
Eli Mardock,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Cluster,
Colin Newman,
The Index,
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow.
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.