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 Guyana and from Tokyo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1973.
I was there at the first Television show in New York.
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 1966 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Glasgow and Lagos.
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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
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 The Velvet Underground to the funk 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 Alton Ellis. All the underground hits.
All Terry Callier tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Michelle Simonal record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Donny Hathaway record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Fatback Band,
Zero Boys,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Pharoah Sanders,
Lee Hazlewood,
Lower 48,
Skarface,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Alton Ellis,
Nation of Ulysses,
Ornette Coleman,
Nirvana,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Kaleidoscope,
The Divine Comedy,
Ronan,
Johnny Clarke,
Man Parrish,
Unwound,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
The Tremeloes,
Cal Tjader,
Joensuu 1685,
L. Decosne,
Avey Tare,
Faraquet,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Gregory Isaacs,
The J.B.'s,
Matthew Halsall,
Country Joe & The Fish,
This Heat,
Anakelly,
Parry Music,
Harry Pussy,
Boredoms,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
ABBA,
Pylon,
Section 25,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Jesper Dahlback,
Sugar Minott,
Unrelated Segments,
The Associates,
Minor Threat,
Connie Case,
Rod Modell,
Cecil Taylor,
Basic Channel,
The Count Five,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Bill Near,
The Gap Band,
Quadrant,
Leonard Cohen,
Television Personalities, Television Personalities, Television Personalities, Television Personalities.
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.