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 Nicaragua and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 Portland and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 arpeggiator 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 Television to the techno 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 Eve St. Jones. All the underground hits.
All Livin' Joy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Fad Gadget record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Donny Hathaway record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ludus,
Public Image Ltd.,
Organ,
Albert Ayler,
Grandmaster Flash,
Kerri Chandler,
The Moleskins,
X-102,
The Red Krayola,
the Swans,
Joe Finger,
Oneida,
Visage,
Glenn Branca,
Don Cherry,
Gang Starr,
E-Dancer,
Eyeless In Gaza,
The Monochrome Set,
The Doobie Brothers,
the Slits,
Swans,
The Music Machine,
Marine Girls,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Howard Jones,
Ohio Players,
Stetsasonic,
Flipper,
Slave,
Glambeats Corp.,
Andrew Hill,
The Seeds,
Talk Talk,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Chris Corsano,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
PIL,
Pere Ubu,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Busters,
Quadrant,
the Sonics,
Lower 48,
The Associates,
Dawn Penn,
the Germs,
Johnny Osbourne,
Mad Mike,
Chrome,
Lucky Dragons,
Scientists,
The Durutti Column,
Alison Limerick,
Angry Samoans,
Deadbeat,
Spoonie Gee,
Lee Hazlewood,
Brass Construction,
OOIOO,
Skarface,
Sex Pistols,
Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar, Barry Ungar.
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.