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 Cuba and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tokyo 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 Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Fugazi to the crunk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Suicide tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Prince Buster record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Flamin' Groovies,
Donald Byrd,
Oneida,
Wolf Eyes,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Chrome,
10cc,
Pantytec,
Pere Ubu,
The Fortunes,
Blancmange,
Pylon,
The Velvet Underground,
Rhythm & Sound,
Stereo Dub,
Moss Icon,
the Slits,
KRS-One,
Matthew Halsall,
Wally Richardson,
The Pop Group,
Animal Collective,
Joey Negro,
Crime,
Fort Wilson Riot,
New Order,
Eli Mardock,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Janne Schatter,
Max Romeo,
Pulsallama,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
The J.B.'s,
Slick Rick,
Gastr Del Sol,
Brand Nubian,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Technova,
The Blues Magoos,
Jacob Miller,
Eurythmics,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
James White and The Blacks,
Ponytail,
Scion,
The Last Poets,
Barry Ungar,
Byron Stingily,
The Trojans,
Godley & Creme,
The Evens,
Motorama,
Lalann,
E-Dancer,
Susan Cadogan,
Rotary Connection,
The Neon Judgement,
ABBA,
Pantaleimon,
The Buckinghams,
The Vogues,
Massinfluence, Massinfluence, Massinfluence, Massinfluence.
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.