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 Kiribati and from Cairo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1961 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 oboe 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 The Raincoats to the techno 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 Blancmange. All the underground hits.
All Black Sheep tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Soul Sonic Force record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ronan record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Walker Brothers,
Skaos,
Monks,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Jerry's Kids,
Con Funk Shun,
Todd Rundgren,
Public Enemy,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Deepchord,
Robert Wyatt,
Dead Boys,
Sonic Youth,
Isaac Hayes,
Make Up,
Ronan,
Mad Mike,
Average White Band,
John Foxx,
Model 500,
Kool Moe Dee,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Chris Corsano,
Sällskapet,
Minutemen,
Henry Cow,
ABBA,
The Standells,
Minor Threat,
Dark Day,
The Dirtbombs,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Flamin' Groovies,
MC5,
The Pretty Things,
John Cale,
Niagra,
The Smiths,
Flash Fearless,
John Coltrane,
Tim Buckley,
Shuggie Otis,
Radiopuhelimet,
Symarip,
10cc,
Marine Girls,
The Red Krayola,
La Düsseldorf,
Matthew Halsall,
Barrington Levy,
cv313,
Spoonie Gee,
June of 44,
Idris Muhammad,
Sarah Menescal,
Gang of Four,
Arab on Radar,
Jeru the Damaja,
The Stooges,
Yusef Lateef,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Roger Hodgson,
Deakin, Deakin, Deakin, Deakin.
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.