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 China and from Delhi.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in 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 1963 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 London Community Gospel Choir 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 Moss Icon. All the underground hits.
All Cecil Taylor tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Barrington Levy 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gong record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Soft Machine,
Ken Boothe,
Neil Young,
Lucky Dragons,
Monks,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Eric Dolphy,
Yazoo,
Gang Starr,
Swans,
Thompson Twins,
Amazonics,
Harmonia,
Susan Cadogan,
CMW,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
The Golliwogs,
The Grass Roots,
Subhumans,
Althea and Donna,
The Monochrome Set,
Ultra Naté,
Hashim,
Essential Logic,
The Real Kids,
The Gories,
Harpers Bizarre,
Barclay James Harvest,
Faust,
Marmalade,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Cal Tjader,
Terry Callier,
Skriet,
Chris Corsano,
Deadbeat,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Grey Daturas,
the Association,
The Birthday Party,
The New Christs,
Ituana,
Scan 7,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Angels of Light,
Rosa Yemen,
Blancmange,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Lungfish,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Stockholm Monsters,
Dark Day,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Bad Manners,
Derrick May,
Amon Düül,
Albert Ayler,
Nirvana,
Aswad, Aswad, Aswad, Aswad.
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.