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 Cambodia and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 clarinet 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 West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band to the disco kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Smoke. All the underground hits.
All The Cowsills tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Amazonics record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Qualms record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Symarip,
Sight & Sound,
Cal Tjader,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Nick Fraelich,
Terrestrial Tones,
Mad Mike,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
The Moleskins,
The Doors,
Trumans Water,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Barry Ungar,
Tres Demented,
Soft Machine,
The Invisible,
The Mummies,
Warren Ellis,
June of 44,
Half Japanese,
Kenny Larkin,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
The Beau Brummels,
The Blackbyrds,
Adolescents,
The Gories,
OOIOO,
Severed Heads,
The Golliwogs,
Marmalade,
The Trojans,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Derrick May,
Juan Atkins,
The Skatalites,
Reuben Wilson,
Desert Stars,
U.S. Maple,
Blake Baxter,
Graham Central Station,
Easy Going,
Cluster,
London Community Gospel Choir,
F. McDonald,
Stetsasonic,
Barclay James Harvest,
The Last Poets,
Babytalk,
Brand Nubian,
Fatback Band,
Yellowson,
Laurel Aitken,
Freddie Wadling,
Kevin Saunderson,
Jawbox,
Slick Rick,
Bobbi Humphrey,
The J.B.'s,
Nils Olav,
Au Pairs, Au Pairs, Au Pairs, Au Pairs.
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.