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 China and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 Houston and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Young Marble Giants to the rock kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Royal Family And The Poor. All the underground hits.
All Gil Scott Heron tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ten City 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sonny Sharrock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Avey Tare,
The Slackers,
Delta 5,
Gong,
Yusef Lateef,
The Trojans,
Bang On A Can,
Sonic Youth,
Blossom Toes,
Bobby Womack,
Public Image Ltd.,
Au Pairs,
Can,
Bauhaus,
Carl Craig,
Aural Exciters,
The Tremeloes,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Gories,
Shoche,
Dave Gahan,
The Associates,
The Real Kids,
Tears for Fears,
Massinfluence,
New Age Steppers,
Scrapy,
Kayak,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Glenn Branca,
Urselle,
Joey Negro,
Ponytail,
Country Teasers,
Depeche Mode,
Barrington Levy,
Saccharine Trust,
Pharoah Sanders,
Nik Kershaw,
Beasts of Bourbon,
T. Rex,
Outsiders,
the Fania All-Stars,
Bob Dylan,
Cybotron,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Lungfish,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Electric Prunes,
Oneida,
Wire,
Frankie Knuckles,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Jerry's Kids,
Ohio Players,
Minutemen,
Lakeside,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Harpers Bizarre,
Agitation Free,
Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken.
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.