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 Seychelles and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Lewis show in Vancouver.
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 1967 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the spring reverb 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 Scan 7 to the funk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Donald Byrd. All the underground hits.
All The Selecter tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Simply Red 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Brothers Johnson record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
The Blackbyrds,
Excepter,
Rufus Thomas,
Girls At Our Best!,
Fugazi,
Althea and Donna,
Sonny Sharrock,
Altered Images,
Surgeon,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
David Axelrod,
The Fuzztones,
Gang of Four,
the Slits,
The Move,
The Detroit Cobras,
Jesper Dahlback,
Japan,
Crash Course in Science,
Amon Düül,
Hot Snakes,
Scan 7,
Michelle Simonal,
KRS-One,
Slave,
Fear,
Quando Quango,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Electric Prunes,
Rosa Yemen,
Wally Richardson,
Eric B and Rakim,
Los Fastidios,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Metal Thangz,
Anthony Braxton,
Vladislav Delay,
Lalo Schifrin,
Bobby Byrd,
Avey Tare,
Prince Buster,
Sandy B,
Carl Craig,
Clear Light,
Janne Schatter,
Parry Music,
Pierre Henry,
Icehouse,
kango's stein massive,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Second Layer,
the Human League,
Gang Starr,
The Misunderstood,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Soft Cell,
The Blues Magoos,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
D'Angelo,
Animal Collective, Animal Collective, Animal Collective, Animal Collective.
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.