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 Cuba and from Glasgow.
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 1967 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Glasgow 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the guitar 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 Gun Club to the punk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 The Dave Clark Five. All the underground hits.
All Ken Boothe tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Minor Threat record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Second Layer record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Spandau Ballet,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
The Young Rascals,
Cal Tjader,
Jawbox,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Faust,
the Swans,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Clear Light,
Mark Hollis,
Massinfluence,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Mantronix,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Andrew Hill,
Babytalk,
Skarface,
Nico,
Little Man,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Techniques,
Rotary Connection,
Shoche,
Pantaleimon,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Black Sheep,
Archie Shepp,
Erasure,
The Alarm Clocks,
Television Personalities,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Roxy Music,
The Vogues,
Magma,
Spoonie Gee,
Motorama,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Gabor Szabo,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The J.B.'s,
New Age Steppers,
Fela Kuti,
The Buckinghams,
La Düsseldorf,
Q65,
John Holt,
Matthew Bourne,
Wire,
Rufus Thomas,
Wolf Eyes,
Avey Tare,
Jacob Miller,
Eric B and Rakim,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Lou Reed,
the Germs,
Erykah Badu,
John Cale,
MDC,
Terrestrial Tones,
Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare.
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.