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 Bahrain and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 Accra and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 sitar 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 Mad Mike to the rock 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 Animal Collective. All the underground hits.
All China Crisis tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sly & The Family Stone record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a World's Most record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Silicon Teens,
Average White Band,
Absolute Body Control,
Funkadelic,
Michelle Simonal,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Can,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
The Electric Prunes,
Cecil Taylor,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Lou Christie,
Cybotron,
Shuggie Otis,
Jawbox,
Siglo XX,
Sugar Minott,
Amon Düül,
Pantytec,
U.S. Maple,
Mark Hollis,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Unwound,
Radiohead,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Raincoats,
Whodini,
Jacques Brel,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Reagan Youth,
Massinfluence,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Yazoo,
The Human League,
Dual Sessions,
Toni Rubio,
Arcadia,
Angry Samoans,
Delta 5,
H. Thieme,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Gladiators,
Scott Walker,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Lyres,
Eric Copeland,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Eli Mardock,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Country Teasers,
Moebius,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Donny Hathaway,
Amon Düül II,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Outsiders,
MDC,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Wake,
Mary Jane Girls, Mary Jane Girls, Mary Jane Girls, Mary Jane Girls.
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.