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 Singapore and from Houston.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Blackbyrds to the punk 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 The Black Dice. All the underground hits.
All Fifty Foot Hose tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Nation of Ulysses 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Alarm Clocks,
Gong,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Niagra,
Goldenarms,
FM Einheit,
Panda Bear,
Depeche Mode,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Con Funk Shun,
Delta 5,
The Tremeloes,
the Association,
Harpers Bizarre,
Blake Baxter,
John Coltrane,
Alphaville,
Pussy Galore,
Alton Ellis,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Warsaw,
Skriet,
Junior Murvin,
Yazoo,
New York Dolls,
The Busters,
the Human League,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
The Offenders,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Glambeats Corp.,
Loose Ends,
The Names,
Toni Rubio,
Archie Shepp,
Steve Hackett,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Nick Fraelich,
Sex Pistols,
Index,
E-Dancer,
Gerry Rafferty,
8 Eyed Spy,
Desert Stars,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
the Soft Cell,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Groovy Waters,
Banda Bassotti,
The Gun Club,
Pole,
Rosa Yemen,
Suburban Knight,
R.M.O.,
The Music Machine,
Lakeside,
Tubeway Army,
Franke,
John Cale,
Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu, Letta Mbulu.
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.