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 Peru and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Throbbing Gristle show in 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 1968 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Ken Boothe to the grunge kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Symarip. All the underground hits.
All Jandek tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jeff Lynne record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sparks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Ohio Players,
Tears for Fears,
The Divine Comedy,
T.S.O.L.,
John Foxx,
Scion,
The Skatalites,
Symarip,
Babytalk,
Sun City Girls,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Suburban Knight,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Porter Ricks,
Faust,
Fear,
a-ha,
Spoonie Gee,
Patti Smith,
Vladislav Delay,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Rod Modell,
Henry Cow,
John Holt,
The Zeros,
Rotary Connection,
EPMD,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Metal Thangz,
Gang of Four,
Yazoo,
Interpol,
Tropical Tobacco,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Michelle Simonal,
World's Most,
Soulsonic Force,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Techniques,
Main Source,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Gap Band,
The Remains,
Moss Icon,
Parry Music,
Public Image Ltd.,
Mark Hollis,
The Motions,
Harpers Bizarre,
Cybotron,
Slave,
Basic Channel,
Harry Pussy,
The Toasters,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Deadbeat,
Black Pus,
Fela Kuti,
Model 500,
Scan 7,
Sixth Finger,
The Misunderstood, The Misunderstood, The Misunderstood, The Misunderstood.
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.