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 Mali and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1961 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 chamberlin 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 Arcadia to the rock kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Brothers Johnson. All the underground hits.
All The Dave Clark Five tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Robert Hood 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Can record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Eden Ahbez,
New Order,
Nils Olav,
The Golliwogs,
Amon Düül,
DJ Sneak,
Mission of Burma,
Basic Channel,
The Fall,
Metal Thangz,
Cecil Taylor,
Terrestrial Tones,
Massinfluence,
Loose Ends,
The Doobie Brothers,
Porter Ricks,
The Fire Engines,
Aural Exciters,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Scrapy,
Jacques Brel,
Popol Vuh,
Morten Harket,
Joe Smooth,
Camouflage,
Livin' Joy,
Anakelly,
Michelle Simonal,
Boz Scaggs,
Todd Terry,
Trumans Water,
The Beau Brummels,
Anthony Braxton,
Boredoms,
Stockholm Monsters,
Bang On A Can,
The Techniques,
The Slackers,
Supertramp,
The Smoke,
Chris & Cosey,
Magazine,
Stereo Dub,
Terry Callier,
Joey Negro,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Pylon,
Scan 7,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
T.S.O.L.,
Cybotron,
Soft Cell,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Erykah Badu,
Angry Samoans,
Lou Reed,
B.T. Express,
Neil Young,
The Human League,
Lyres,
Tommy Roe,
Babytalk, Babytalk, Babytalk, Babytalk.
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.