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 Equatorial Guinea and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1962.
I was there at the first Guess Who show in Winnipeg.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1977 at the first Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Slackers to the grunge 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 Grandmaster Flash. All the underground hits.
All Joe Finger tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Nas 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dead Boys record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
James Chance & The Contortions,
Marine Girls,
Camouflage,
The Young Rascals,
Alphaville,
Kool Moe Dee,
Marc Almond,
Carl Craig,
E-Dancer,
Arab on Radar,
Piero Umiliani,
Cybotron,
Los Fastidios,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Half Japanese,
Arthur Verocai,
Sun Ra,
Country Teasers,
Letta Mbulu,
Mad Mike,
The Toasters,
PIL,
Infiniti,
The Invisible,
The Monochrome Set,
Reagan Youth,
Smog,
Sam Rivers,
Pharoah Sanders,
Model 500,
Lyres,
Man Parrish,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Young Marble Giants,
T.S.O.L.,
Aural Exciters,
Accadde A,
Jeff Lynne,
The Music Machine,
The Human League,
Eric B and Rakim,
Ituana,
Bluetip,
Gang of Four,
The Wake,
Jesper Dahlback,
Andrew Hill,
Scrapy,
These Immortal Souls,
Bang On A Can,
Blancmange,
Chris Corsano,
LL Cool J,
Rakim,
Brand Nubian,
Sandy B,
Dark Day,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Darondo, Darondo, Darondo, Darondo.
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.