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 Kenya and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 Madrid and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Winnipeg 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 1962 at the first Guess Who practice in a loft in Winnipeg.
I was working on the oboe 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 The Blackbyrds to the rock 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 Yazoo. All the underground hits.
All Bill Near tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jeru the Damaja record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 rhodes and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a F. McDonald record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Royal Trux,
Lyres,
Sonic Youth,
Suicide,
ABC,
Soft Cell,
Neu!,
Jawbox,
Jeru the Damaja,
Isaac Hayes,
Fad Gadget,
Bobby Sherman,
The Sonics,
Ornette Coleman,
One Last Wish,
Skarface,
Susan Cadogan,
Deepchord,
Basic Channel,
Jacob Miller,
Adolescents,
Skriet,
Sparks,
Deadbeat,
The Golliwogs,
Eric B and Rakim,
Crooked Eye,
Spoonie Gee,
Television,
Robert Wyatt,
H. Thieme,
Henry Cow,
Agitation Free,
Hot Snakes,
The Saints,
Urselle,
Joe Finger,
48th St. Collective,
Absolute Body Control,
Radio Birdman,
Ossler,
Prince Buster,
Aloha Tigers,
Kurtis Blow,
Country Joe & The Fish,
LL Cool J,
Black Pus,
The Techniques,
Cal Tjader,
Peter & Gordon,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
In Retrospect,
Maurizio,
Zero Boys,
Lou Christie,
Rekid,
Gong,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Half Japanese,
Morten Harket,
Quantec,
Pulsallama, Pulsallama, Pulsallama, Pulsallama.
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.