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 China and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1973.
I was there at the first Television show in New York.
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 1966 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 The Neon Judgement to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Bang On A Can. All the underground hits.
All Public Enemy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sunsets and Hearts record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dawn Penn record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Grandmaster Flash,
Kurtis Blow,
Monolake,
Dawn Penn,
Ultra Naté,
The Misunderstood,
Lungfish,
The Moleskins,
Barbara Tucker,
Aural Exciters,
Fat Boys,
The Busters,
Moss Icon,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
D'Angelo,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Con Funk Shun,
Joe Finger,
Jandek,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Kenny Larkin,
Wolf Eyes,
Bush Tetras,
Peter and Kerry,
Public Image Ltd.,
Stiv Bators,
Subhumans,
Chris & Cosey,
the Slits,
Shuggie Otis,
Swans,
Boogie Down Productions,
Thompson Twins,
June of 44,
John Lydon,
Camberwell Now,
Eden Ahbez,
Circle Jerks,
Shoche,
Black Flag,
Yazoo,
Man Eating Sloth,
Roy Ayers,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
The Knickerbockers,
Tim Buckley,
Scrapy,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Sonny Sharrock,
The Fire Engines,
Saccharine Trust,
Cal Tjader,
Pylon,
Ponytail,
Stereo Dub,
Oneida,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Fugazi,
Bad Manners,
X-102, X-102, X-102, X-102.
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.