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 Singapore and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Lagos.
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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the organ 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 Minny Pops to the punk 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 Iggy Pop. All the underground hits.
All Fluxion tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Moleskins 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Thee Headcoats 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?
The Dirtbombs,
Lucky Dragons,
Soft Machine,
Max Romeo,
The Walker Brothers,
The United States of America,
Archie Shepp,
Nico,
Davy DMX,
Silicon Teens,
The Happenings,
Cheater Slicks,
The Beau Brummels,
T. Rex,
Joe Smooth,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Kaleidoscope,
Tres Demented,
Procol Harum,
Zapp,
Gabor Szabo,
Clear Light,
Dawn Penn,
Steve Hackett,
The Martian,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Q and Not U,
Camouflage,
Subhumans,
Bobby Byrd,
Bob Dylan,
David Bowie,
The Leaves,
Severed Heads,
Traffic Nightmare,
the Slits,
Monks,
The Knickerbockers,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Gichy Dan,
Television Personalities,
The Remains,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Neu!,
Camberwell Now,
Soul Sonic Force,
Soft Cell,
Young Marble Giants,
Jandek,
Mandrill,
The Doobie Brothers,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Scrapy,
Model 500,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Durutti Column,
Von Mondo,
Pagans,
Simply Red,
Scientists,
Deakin,
Todd Terry,
Nas, Nas, Nas, Nas.
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.