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 Somalia and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 Manila and Cairo.
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 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 Yaz to the rock kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Von Mondo. All the underground hits.
All Scrapy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Terry Callier record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge 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 a sitar and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gil Scott Heron record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Unwound,
Laurel Aitken,
the Slits,
The Blues Magoos,
Harmonia,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Aloha Tigers,
Bronski Beat,
Ultra Naté,
Bob Dylan,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
The Raincoats,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Massinfluence,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Crime,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Babytalk,
Robert Wyatt,
Index,
China Crisis,
Ice-T,
Warsaw,
Grey Daturas,
The Mummies,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Adolescents,
Hoover,
The Gap Band,
Harry Pussy,
Sixth Finger,
Lower 48,
Althea and Donna,
Alphaville,
Make Up,
Con Funk Shun,
The Neon Judgement,
The Evens,
Letta Mbulu,
Shuggie Otis,
The Residents,
Peter & Gordon,
Tommy Roe,
Ralphi Rosario,
Bauhaus,
JFA,
The Dave Clark Five,
Donny Hathaway,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Au Pairs,
Inner City,
Flipper,
Drexciya,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Matthew Bourne,
The Walker Brothers,
The Index,
Basic Channel,
Johnny Osbourne,
Schoolly D,
Joe Finger, Joe Finger, Joe Finger, Joe Finger.
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.