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 Zimbabwe and from Woodstock.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1977 at the first Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the marimba 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 Icehouse to the electroclash 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 Golliwogs. All the underground hits.
All Teenage Jesus and the Jerks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Agitation Free 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Minny Pops record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Fortunes,
Mandrill,
Thee Headcoats,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Warsaw,
Interpol,
Archie Shepp,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Guru Guru,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Absolute Body Control,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Blues Magoos,
Max Romeo,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Das Ding,
Trumans Water,
Franke,
The Fire Engines,
The American Breed,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Bluetip,
John Cale,
Circle Jerks,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Nico,
John Coltrane,
Amon Düül II,
Animal Collective,
Tomorrow,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Rakim,
The New Christs,
Index,
Fugazi,
Faust,
MDC,
Wings,
The Pretty Things,
Japan,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Lalann,
Minnie Riperton,
Main Source,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Camberwell Now,
The Barracudas,
Blossom Toes,
Gang Starr,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Slackers,
Sight & Sound,
Quantec,
DNA,
Donald Byrd,
Minny Pops,
Mark Hollis,
Chris & Cosey,
Moebius,
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.