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 Suriname and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 Michael McDonald 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 Ossler to the punk kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. All the underground hits.
All Bluetip tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Marc Almond 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Johnny Clarke record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Swans,
Amazonics,
Neu!,
Byron Stingily,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Adolescents,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Half Japanese,
Lalo Schifrin,
Skriet,
Thee Headcoats,
Jeru the Damaja,
Al Stewart,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Slave,
the Swans,
Kevin Saunderson,
Das Ding,
Crispian St. Peters,
Surgeon,
Johnny Clarke,
Skaos,
Judy Mowatt,
Graham Central Station,
Girls At Our Best!,
Groovy Waters,
Fela Kuti,
Franke,
Country Teasers,
a-ha,
Eric Copeland,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Pharoah Sanders,
EPMD,
Roger Hodgson,
Archie Shepp,
China Crisis,
T.S.O.L.,
Aswad,
The Seeds,
Nick Fraelich,
the Slits,
The Vogues,
Rod Modell,
Pere Ubu,
Piero Umiliani,
The Fire Engines,
Ronnie Foster,
UT,
Soulsonic Force,
Henry Cow,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Urselle,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Tubeway Army,
Matthew Bourne,
The Leaves,
Guru Guru,
Stetsasonic,
Easy Going,
Susan Cadogan,
Kayak,
Marshall Jefferson, Marshall Jefferson, Marshall Jefferson, Marshall Jefferson.
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.