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 Eritrea and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia 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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Be Bop Deluxe to the punk 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 Harry Pussy. All the underground hits.
All Pantaleimon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Unrelated Segments 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lakeside record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sun Ra,
Gang Gang Dance,
Electric Prunes,
Sonny Sharrock,
Connie Case,
Pharoah Sanders,
Surgeon,
The Music Machine,
Eric Copeland,
London Community Gospel Choir,
The Dead C,
The Vogues,
Flamin' Groovies,
Boogie Down Productions,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Unwound,
The Five Americans,
The Smiths,
Eric Dolphy,
Isaac Hayes,
Country Teasers,
Ten City,
The Star Department,
The Dave Clark Five,
The Cowsills,
Jacques Brel,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Minutemen,
Hasil Adkins,
Pere Ubu,
The Associates,
The Shadows of Knight,
Donald Byrd,
Scion,
Dorothy Ashby,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
R.M.O.,
Neu!,
Silicon Teens,
the Soft Cell,
Rosa Yemen,
Heaven 17,
Suburban Knight,
Chris & Cosey,
Rufus Thomas,
Soul II Soul,
Urselle,
Scratch Acid,
Rites of Spring,
Slick Rick,
The Remains,
Pantaleimon,
Clear Light,
Spoonie Gee,
Joy Division,
Duran Duran,
Stereo Dub,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Second Layer,
Soft Cell, Soft Cell, Soft Cell, Soft Cell.
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.