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 Guyana and from Shanghai.
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 1964 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Association 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 Depeche Mode. All the underground hits.
All Jawbox tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Rakim record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ossler record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Colin Newman,
Monolake,
Kayak,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Hasil Adkins,
The Dirtbombs,
Kas Product,
The Red Krayola,
ABC,
The Busters,
Half Japanese,
Rufus Thomas,
The Divine Comedy,
The Standells,
Peter and Kerry,
The Real Kids,
The Saints,
Bang On A Can,
Agitation Free,
EPMD,
Dark Day,
The Music Machine,
Wolf Eyes,
Morten Harket,
The Misunderstood,
Flash Fearless,
David Bowie,
Dead Boys,
ABBA,
The Skatalites,
Pantaleimon,
Ronan,
The Last Poets,
Bluetip,
Barbara Tucker,
Gong,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Walker Brothers,
Chris Corsano,
Sarah Menescal,
Sight & Sound,
Eurythmics,
Rapeman,
David McCallum,
Soul Sonic Force,
DNA,
Banda Bassotti,
Junior Murvin,
Amon Düül II,
Japan,
The Cowsills,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Mantronix,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Circle Jerks,
PIL,
Groovy Waters,
This Heat,
Kerri Chandler,
Scratch Acid, Scratch Acid, Scratch Acid, Scratch Acid.
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.