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 Lesotho and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Essential Logic to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Loose Ends. All the underground hits.
All The Tremeloes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Slackers 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Patti Smith record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Babytalk,
This Heat,
Monks,
Audionom,
Smog,
The Last Poets,
Marine Girls,
Max Romeo,
The Selecter,
Grauzone,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
New Age Steppers,
Quantec,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Dorothy Ashby,
Jerry's Kids,
Livin' Joy,
Underground Resistance,
Japan,
Rites of Spring,
Joy Division,
Barbara Tucker,
Darondo,
Neu!,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Radiohead,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Depeche Mode,
Kurtis Blow,
The Black Dice,
Rufus Thomas,
Basic Channel,
The Angels of Light,
Idris Muhammad,
Bobby Womack,
Carl Craig,
Rhythm & Sound,
Inner City,
Althea and Donna,
Camberwell Now,
Roxy Music,
Faust,
Judy Mowatt,
Erykah Badu,
Todd Terry,
Stiv Bators,
Second Layer,
Grandmaster Flash,
Lalann,
Outsiders,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
JFA,
Albert Ayler,
Motorama,
Scion,
Sun Ra,
B.T. Express,
Nirvana,
Cheater Slicks,
The Cure,
Cal Tjader,
Sonic Youth,
Fifty Foot Hose, Fifty Foot Hose, Fifty Foot Hose, Fifty Foot Hose.
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.