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 Argentina and from Stockholm.
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 1966 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 1962 at the first Guess Who practice in a loft in Winnipeg.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Gabor Szabo to the jazz 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 Rakim. All the underground hits.
All Fluxion tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Stiv Bators 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 rhodes and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dawn Penn record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Black Sheep,
Black Flag,
Supertramp,
The Fortunes,
Basic Channel,
Gang Starr,
Eric Copeland,
The Fall,
Subhumans,
Amon Düül II,
Cecil Taylor,
Johnny Osbourne,
The United States of America,
Sugar Minott,
Parry Music,
Mark Hollis,
Don Cherry,
Joe Smooth,
Peter & Gordon,
Alton Ellis,
Quadrant,
The Smiths,
Amazonics,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Absolute Body Control,
Massinfluence,
Stiv Bators,
Davy DMX,
Aswad,
Duran Duran,
OOIOO,
Dave Gahan,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Eric B and Rakim,
E-Dancer,
Carl Craig,
Tres Demented,
Theoretical Girls,
Maurizio,
Delta 5,
Shoche,
Underground Resistance,
The Cowsills,
Stockholm Monsters,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Harmonia,
The Blues Magoos,
Erasure,
Spoonie Gee,
Urselle,
Marine Girls,
Fluxion,
The Invisible,
Grey Daturas,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Nick Fraelich,
One Last Wish,
Cal Tjader,
Young Marble Giants,
D'Angelo,
Chris Corsano,
Fat Boys,
Vladislav Delay, Vladislav Delay, Vladislav Delay, Vladislav Delay.
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.