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 Jordan and from Bremen.
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 1963 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 In Retrospect to the funk 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 Kevin Saunderson. All the underground hits.
All Young Marble Giants tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pharoah Sanders record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Freddie Wadling record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Crispy Ambulance,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Donny Hathaway,
Mad Mike,
Moebius,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Darondo,
The Seeds,
Tears for Fears,
Buzzcocks,
The Cowsills,
Dead Boys,
Tubeway Army,
the Bar-Kays,
Masters at Work,
Suicide,
Cluster,
Pussy Galore,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Quando Quango,
Intrusion,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Gastr Del Sol,
Flipper,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Can,
Rosa Yemen,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Bluetip,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Residents,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Johnny Clarke,
The Busters,
Newcleus,
Agent Orange,
Ossler,
Section 25,
Archie Shepp,
Rapeman,
Black Flag,
Chris & Cosey,
Accadde A,
David McCallum,
Make Up,
Lungfish,
Fat Boys,
Susan Cadogan,
Lalo Schifrin,
Juan Atkins,
Carl Craig,
Black Sheep,
Unrelated Segments,
Eurythmics,
Colin Newman,
These Immortal Souls,
Patti Smith,
Bob Dylan,
Blancmange,
Gang Starr,
Wire, Wire, Wire, Wire.
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.