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 Bahrain and from Salvador.
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 1960 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the 808 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 Radio Birdman to the crunk 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 Strawberry Alarm Clock. All the underground hits.
All Bill Near tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every DJ Style record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 arpeggiator and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Kas Product record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Althea and Donna,
Tim Buckley,
Don Cherry,
Warsaw,
The Black Dice,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Gories,
Black Bananas,
Throbbing Gristle,
Ralphi Rosario,
Be Bop Deluxe,
L. Decosne,
Funky Four + One,
The Leaves,
Warren Ellis,
John Lydon,
The Happenings,
The Neon Judgement,
Young Marble Giants,
Easy Going,
Eden Ahbez,
Average White Band,
Joe Smooth,
Magma,
Davy DMX,
Nico,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Danielle Patucci,
Supertramp,
The Moody Blues,
Byron Stingily,
Porter Ricks,
MDC,
The Walker Brothers,
Dual Sessions,
Television Personalities,
KRS-One,
Kerrie Biddell,
The Dead C,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Joe Finger,
Groovy Waters,
Man Parrish,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Visage,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Sparks,
Jacques Brel,
Q and Not U,
Lower 48,
Monks,
Marshall Jefferson,
Kayak,
Peter & Gordon,
Crispy Ambulance,
Sun City Girls,
Avey Tare,
Monolake,
Bang On A Can,
Ossler,
Crispian St. Peters,
Chrome, Chrome, Chrome, Chrome.
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.