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 Paraguay and from Calgary.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Delhi.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 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 Bang on a Can All-Stars 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 Juan Atkins. All the underground hits.
All Black Moon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Kinks record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Archie Shepp record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pere Ubu,
Warren Ellis,
Matthew Bourne,
Leonard Cohen,
Shuggie Otis,
Sound Behaviour,
Wally Richardson,
Smog,
Kas Product,
Charles Mingus,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Wings,
Black Moon,
Amazonics,
Parry Music,
Funky Four + One,
Icehouse,
Dawn Penn,
Loose Ends,
Aswad,
Donny Hathaway,
Grey Daturas,
Traffic Nightmare,
Patti Smith,
Steve Hackett,
Kenny Larkin,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Cymande,
Franke,
Niagra,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
The Doors,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Dave Gahan,
Dead Boys,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Qualms,
kango's stein massive,
Rapeman,
John Lydon,
Zero Boys,
Erykah Badu,
Bronski Beat,
Jeff Lynne,
Michelle Simonal,
Liliput,
The Neon Judgement,
AZ,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Gabor Szabo,
Goldenarms,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Zapp,
Man Parrish,
Babytalk,
New Order,
Throbbing Gristle,
The Gladiators,
Crash Course in Science,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Carl Craig, Carl Craig, Carl Craig, Carl Craig.
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.