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 Monaco and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1969 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 The Techniques to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Zapp. All the underground hits.
All Quantec tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Fugs record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a New York Dolls record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sarah Menescal,
Magazine,
The Pop Group,
The Pretty Things,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
David McCallum,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
The Tremeloes,
Boogie Down Productions,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
K-Klass,
Pere Ubu,
Black Flag,
Crime,
Rakim,
Royal Trux,
Liliput,
Marmalade,
The Flesh Eaters,
MDC,
JFA,
the Fania All-Stars,
Cluster,
Slave,
Matthew Halsall,
a-ha,
MC5,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Sunsets and Hearts,
The Saints,
Marshall Jefferson,
Cal Tjader,
Bronski Beat,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Al Stewart,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Ultimate Spinach,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Prince Buster,
Soft Cell,
Eden Ahbez,
Sparks,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Los Fastidios,
Leonard Cohen,
Gichy Dan,
the Human League,
Faraquet,
Sex Pistols,
Ralphi Rosario,
Ponytail,
Joensuu 1685,
Jacob Miller,
Stiv Bators,
Guru Guru,
Jeff Mills,
John Foxx,
Grandmaster Flash,
Hasil Adkins,
Harpers Bizarre,
Cameo,
Swell Maps, Swell Maps, Swell Maps, Swell Maps.
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.