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 Singapore and from Copenhagen.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Joy Division to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Boz Scaggs. All the underground hits.
All Lalann tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hasil Adkins 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lee Hazlewood record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Swell Maps,
AZ,
Vainqueur,
Jesper Dahlback,
Oblivians,
Joe Finger,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
The Victims,
Toni Rubio,
Boredoms,
La Düsseldorf,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Selecter,
Ludus,
Japan,
Big Daddy Kane,
Agent Orange,
Dave Gahan,
Motorama,
The Evens,
Aural Exciters,
the Fania All-Stars,
Nico,
Soul Sonic Force,
Lakeside,
Man Eating Sloth,
Brick,
The Gap Band,
The Motions,
The Moody Blues,
Lyres,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Sarah Menescal,
Robert Hood,
The Mojo Men,
The Modern Lovers,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Joey Negro,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Absolute Body Control,
Rufus Thomas,
Malaria!,
The Moleskins,
Qualms,
Funky Four + One,
Bobby Womack,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Crispy Ambulance,
Babytalk,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Eric B and Rakim,
Scrapy,
Scott Walker,
Quantec,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Groovy Waters,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Monks,
Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy.
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.