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 South Africa and from Beijing.
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 1968 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Philadelphia.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Fifty Foot Hose to the funk 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 Bluetip. All the underground hits.
All The Smiths tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every MC5 record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 snare and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Peter and Kerry record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Tres Demented,
June of 44,
Gang Green,
Reuben Wilson,
David Bowie,
Sixth Finger,
The Fire Engines,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Marmalade,
The Birthday Party,
Whodini,
Ice-T,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Fluxion,
Marshall Jefferson,
Aswad,
ABC,
Eve St. Jones,
The Slits,
Bob Dylan,
Joe Smooth,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Traffic Nightmare,
China Crisis,
The Trojans,
Goldenarms,
Parry Music,
The Sound,
Q65,
Black Flag,
Isaac Hayes,
Soul Sonic Force,
Junior Murvin,
Inner City,
The Young Rascals,
Todd Terry,
The Remains,
Groovy Waters,
Scratch Acid,
CMW,
The Misunderstood,
Spoonie Gee,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Tremeloes,
Scott Walker,
Organ,
Sam Rivers,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Fatback Band,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
the Sonics,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Stetsasonic,
X-102,
Khruangbin,
Basic Channel,
Infiniti,
Minutemen,
Warren Ellis,
Fad Gadget,
The Cowsills,
Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance.
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.