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 St Lucia and from Lille.
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 1960 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Woodstock.
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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the oboe 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 Cal Tjader to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 PIL. All the underground hits.
All Sonic Youth tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every LL Cool J record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James Chance & The Contortions 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?
Be Bop Deluxe,
Rhythm & Sound,
Todd Terry,
Sugar Minott,
Byron Stingily,
Ponytail,
Roger Hodgson,
Intrusion,
Idris Muhammad,
Make Up,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Ralphi Rosario,
Erykah Badu,
Au Pairs,
Jacob Miller,
The Five Americans,
F. McDonald,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Searchers,
Youth Brigade,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Tres Demented,
Davy DMX,
Joe Finger,
Boredoms,
Cameo,
The Misunderstood,
Bang On A Can,
Roy Ayers,
John Coltrane,
Glenn Branca,
Rufus Thomas,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Bronski Beat,
Con Funk Shun,
Underground Resistance,
Eurythmics,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Howard Jones,
MC5,
Motorama,
The Toasters,
Gang Starr,
Albert Ayler,
the Soft Cell,
The Flesh Eaters,
Cybotron,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Groovy Waters,
The Beau Brummels,
In Retrospect,
KRS-One,
Wasted Youth,
Buzzcocks,
Aural Exciters,
Agent Orange,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Amazonics,
Circle Jerks,
Ultimate Spinach, Ultimate Spinach, Ultimate Spinach, Ultimate Spinach.
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.