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 Laos and from Salvador.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 John Cale to the rap 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 The Fortunes. All the underground hits.
All H. Thieme tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Echospace record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance 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 a clarinet and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Peter and Kerry record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Glambeats Corp.,
Black Flag,
Fugazi,
The Monochrome Set,
Eve St. Jones,
Audionom,
The Motions,
Sällskapet,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Agent Orange,
Urselle,
Bad Manners,
New York Dolls,
Trumans Water,
The Blues Magoos,
Brick,
Marcia Griffiths,
Intrusion,
The Red Krayola,
Barry Ungar,
Henry Cow,
Soul II Soul,
Alphaville,
Grey Daturas,
Gerry Rafferty,
Dennis Brown,
The Five Americans,
The Dave Clark Five,
Kerri Chandler,
Bluetip,
The Knickerbockers,
The Birthday Party,
Sex Pistols,
Black Sheep,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Gang Starr,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Loose Ends,
a-ha,
Sexual Harrassment,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
The Associates,
Cluster,
Brothers Johnson,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
The Young Rascals,
The Fugs,
Bang On A Can,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
ABBA,
Blancmange,
Gabor Szabo,
Charles Mingus,
Slick Rick,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Aaron Thompson,
Swell Maps,
Pussy Galore,
Harry Pussy,
The Gap Band,
Television, Television, Television, Television.
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.