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 Shanghai.
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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Woodstock.
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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 The Grass Roots to the electroclash 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 The Trojans. All the underground hits.
All The Move tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sparks record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Echospace record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Blues Magoos,
The J.B.'s,
Procol Harum,
Second Layer,
Chrome,
Laurel Aitken,
Groovy Waters,
Swans,
Ohio Players,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Derrick Morgan,
The Fall,
Eve St. Jones,
New Order,
Lungfish,
OOIOO,
Gang of Four,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Gang Green,
Bronski Beat,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Lou Christie,
KRS-One,
Toni Rubio,
The Raincoats,
Monks,
The Birthday Party,
Joyce Sims,
Gichy Dan,
Scrapy,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Moby Grape,
AZ,
Country Teasers,
Sugar Minott,
Throbbing Gristle,
Bobby Sherman,
Bluetip,
Girls At Our Best!,
X-Ray Spex,
The United States of America,
Ultimate Spinach,
Pierre Henry,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Vogues,
Grey Daturas,
The Residents,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
the Normal,
Terrestrial Tones,
Maurizio,
Sound Behaviour,
Don Cherry,
Peter & Gordon,
Glambeats Corp.,
Silicon Teens,
Sonic Youth,
The Gories,
In Retrospect,
Rakim,
Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling, Freddie Wadling.
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.