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 Philippines and from Philadelphia.
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 1960 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Salvador 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Con Funk Shun to the crunk 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 Sad Lovers and Giants. All the underground hits.
All Ash Ra Tempel tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lindisfarne 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a ABBA record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ash Ra Tempel,
Liliput,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Black Flag,
The Flesh Eaters,
Public Enemy,
Curtis Mayfield,
Blossom Toes,
The Cure,
Los Fastidios,
Bill Wells,
Arthur Verocai,
Arcadia,
Matthew Halsall,
Johnny Clarke,
Newcleus,
Judy Mowatt,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Massinfluence,
Funkadelic,
Pet Shop Boys,
Franke,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
48th St. Collective,
Sam Rivers,
Max Romeo,
David Bowie,
Angry Samoans,
the Swans,
Grey Daturas,
Visage,
Porter Ricks,
Laurel Aitken,
Dark Day,
The Selecter,
The Remains,
Vainqueur,
Whodini,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Eden Ahbez,
The United States of America,
Colin Newman,
The Trojans,
The Techniques,
Public Image Ltd.,
Jerry's Kids,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Slick Rick,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Roger Hodgson,
A Certain Ratio,
Toni Rubio,
Harpers Bizarre,
the Association,
Alton Ellis,
Bob Dylan,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
T. Rex,
D'Angelo,
The Birthday Party,
The Blackbyrds,
The Buckinghams,
Basic Channel,
Ornette Coleman, Ornette Coleman, Ornette Coleman, Ornette Coleman.
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.