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 Costa Rica and from Winnipeg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Woodstock 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the marimba sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Pretty Things to the rock kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Zero Boys. All the underground hits.
All Bang on a Can All-Stars tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Zero Boys 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Gories record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Real Kids,
Henry Cow,
Flash Fearless,
X-Ray Spex,
Gregory Isaacs,
Sparks,
Davy DMX,
Slave,
Intrusion,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Kerrie Biddell,
The Martian,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Rufus Thomas,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Ken Boothe,
Urselle,
Ultra Naté,
The Gories,
EPMD,
Television Personalities,
Tears for Fears,
Japan,
Deadbeat,
The Residents,
Flamin' Groovies,
The Vogues,
La Düsseldorf,
Infiniti,
Banda Bassotti,
Jeru the Damaja,
Adolescents,
Eric B and Rakim,
Faraquet,
Pere Ubu,
48th St. Collective,
Marine Girls,
the Association,
Black Bananas,
Ultimate Spinach,
Joe Smooth,
The Doobie Brothers,
Brothers Johnson,
Los Fastidios,
Michelle Simonal,
Nik Kershaw,
Young Marble Giants,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Ash Ra Tempel,
The Velvet Underground,
MC5,
Cecil Taylor,
Todd Terry,
Rotary Connection,
The Blues Magoos,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Gang Green,
Rekid,
The Detroit Cobras,
Brick,
The Sound,
Max Romeo,
Albert Ayler, Albert Ayler, Albert Ayler, Albert Ayler.
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.