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 Guinea and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Bowie show in Bromley.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 guitar 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 Cal Tjader to the rap kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Names. All the underground hits.
All The Five Americans tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Isaac Hayes 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Essential Logic record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Drive Like Jehu,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Cal Tjader,
The Birthday Party,
OOIOO,
Barry Ungar,
the Slits,
Bang On A Can,
Soul II Soul,
Bobby Sherman,
The Dirtbombs,
Tears for Fears,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Slave,
Todd Rundgren,
Robert Wyatt,
Swell Maps,
Vladislav Delay,
Little Man,
Scratch Acid,
Crispy Ambulance,
Nation of Ulysses,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Crispian St. Peters,
Youth Brigade,
Hardrive,
Ohio Players,
Audionom,
Icehouse,
The Angels of Light,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Pantytec,
Eli Mardock,
Janne Schatter,
The Beau Brummels,
Essential Logic,
10cc,
Quantec,
Tubeway Army,
Main Source,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
The Detroit Cobras,
Livin' Joy,
Visage,
Monks,
Hashim,
Faust,
Nirvana,
The Star Department,
Echospace,
Minnie Riperton,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Grandmaster Flash,
Bootsy Collins,
Stetsasonic,
Barrington Levy,
The Five Americans,
Iggy Pop,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Harry Pussy,
Simply Red, Simply Red, Simply Red, Simply Red.
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.