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 Rwanda and from Philadelphia.
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 1965 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Adolescents to the grunge kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Aaron Thompson. All the underground hits.
All Livin' Joy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Smog record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock 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 spring reverb and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Peter & Gordon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Steve Hackett,
Dead Boys,
Young Marble Giants,
Marvin Gaye,
John Coltrane,
Make Up,
Terry Callier,
F. McDonald,
Chris Corsano,
L. Decosne,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Skatalites,
Heaven 17,
The Velvet Underground,
The Doobie Brothers,
Sällskapet,
the Fania All-Stars,
Ossler,
Barry Ungar,
Silicon Teens,
Kerrie Biddell,
David McCallum,
Robert Görl,
Ultimate Spinach,
Fear,
R.M.O.,
The Black Dice,
Tears for Fears,
Ten City,
Vainqueur,
Rapeman,
Drexciya,
Joe Finger,
The Vogues,
the Germs,
Royal Trux,
Public Image Ltd.,
Janne Schatter,
Khruangbin,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
The Monks,
Moby Grape,
Michelle Simonal,
Blancmange,
ABC,
The Saints,
Nas,
Can,
Eden Ahbez,
Excepter,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Hasil Adkins,
Minutemen,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Graham Central Station,
Tommy Roe,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
The Young Rascals,
Television Personalities,
Faraquet, Faraquet, Faraquet, Faraquet.
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.