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 Korea North and from Seoul.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1976 at the first Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Stereo Dub to the rap 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 Rahsaan Roland Kirk. All the underground hits.
All Model 500 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lungfish record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ten City record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Victims,
Roxy Music,
Ultimate Spinach,
Von Mondo,
Ohio Players,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
The Trojans,
The Slackers,
Essential Logic,
The Walker Brothers,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Traffic Nightmare,
AZ,
Nils Olav,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Metal Thangz,
Bluetip,
The Neon Judgement,
Grauzone,
Das Ding,
Fela Kuti,
The Move,
Shuggie Otis,
Brothers Johnson,
Pole,
Chrome,
Lungfish,
DJ Style,
Boredoms,
Sarah Menescal,
The Red Krayola,
Bill Near,
Andrew Hill,
Quando Quango,
Liliput,
Aloha Tigers,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Dead Boys,
Marcia Griffiths,
Junior Murvin,
Rhythm & Sound,
John Cale,
Ituana,
Magazine,
New Age Steppers,
Eric B and Rakim,
Black Pus,
John Holt,
The Gories,
Visage,
Joyce Sims,
Black Bananas,
Lyres,
Young Marble Giants,
The Dirtbombs,
Jimmy McGriff,
the Human League,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Todd Terry,
The Searchers,
Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye.
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.