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 Guyana and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1962 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Letta Mbulu to the techno kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Gabor Szabo. All the underground hits.
All Chris & Cosey tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Drexciya 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a R.M.O. record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Slits,
The Durutti Column,
James Chance & The Contortions,
The Evens,
Hasil Adkins,
Negative Approach,
The Golliwogs,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
The Flesh Eaters,
Oblivians,
Fugazi,
The Human League,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Chrome,
Radio Birdman,
The Victims,
Maleditus Sound,
Symarip,
The Sonics,
Hot Snakes,
Schoolly D,
CMW,
Technova,
Mars,
Audionom,
Skaos,
Television Personalities,
Bluetip,
Outsiders,
Bob Dylan,
Country Joe & The Fish,
the Soft Cell,
Jacob Miller,
Subhumans,
Dead Boys,
Marshall Jefferson,
Eve St. Jones,
Tim Buckley,
Althea and Donna,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Shuggie Otis,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Marcia Griffiths,
Harpers Bizarre,
Bush Tetras,
Eric Copeland,
John Lydon,
The United States of America,
Young Marble Giants,
Gabor Szabo,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Boz Scaggs,
Albert Ayler,
Talk Talk,
Jacques Brel,
Ituana,
Blake Baxter,
Carl Craig,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Gang of Four,
Pharoah Sanders,
Brass Construction,
Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd.
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.