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 Mauritius and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1969 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 kango's stein massive to the electroclash 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 Little Man. All the underground hits.
All Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Trojans record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Leaves record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Connie Case,
The Skatalites,
Lakeside,
Agitation Free,
Make Up,
Lou Reed,
Eurythmics,
Pet Shop Boys,
Echospace,
Angry Samoans,
Marvin Gaye,
Anakelly,
Donny Hathaway,
The Martian,
Iggy Pop,
Youth Brigade,
Second Layer,
Spoonie Gee,
cv313,
Visage,
The Toasters,
Bad Manners,
Terry Callier,
Pere Ubu,
Can,
Stetsasonic,
Black Bananas,
Basic Channel,
Alison Limerick,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Bootsy Collins,
Black Sheep,
The Remains,
Johnny Osbourne,
Nirvana,
Althea and Donna,
Spandau Ballet,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Negative Approach,
Faraquet,
Bronski Beat,
The Angels of Light,
Gang Green,
Icehouse,
Gong,
Zapp,
The Associates,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Tomorrow,
the Germs,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Nation of Ulysses,
Loose Ends,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Ituana,
Minor Threat,
June of 44,
Shoche,
AZ,
Wings,
Pantaleimon,
Simply Red,
Sällskapet, Sällskapet, Sällskapet, Sällskapet.
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.