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 Bolivia and from Houston.
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 1968 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Gichy Dan to the techno kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Smog. All the underground hits.
All Boredoms tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Eric Dolphy record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Eric B and Rakim record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Mandrill,
Radio Birdman,
Urselle,
Drive Like Jehu,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Jeff Mills,
Blancmange,
Glambeats Corp.,
Banda Bassotti,
Glenn Branca,
Bronski Beat,
Supertramp,
Gang Green,
Desert Stars,
Country Teasers,
Silicon Teens,
Circle Jerks,
The Doobie Brothers,
Jandek,
Mission of Burma,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Seeds,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Skaos,
Black Moon,
John Foxx,
Junior Murvin,
Q and Not U,
These Immortal Souls,
The Martian,
Harmonia,
OOIOO,
Brick,
John Lydon,
Motorama,
Dead Boys,
Cluster,
The Associates,
New Age Steppers,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Chrome,
Sällskapet,
The Cure,
Liliput,
Aloha Tigers,
X-Ray Spex,
John Holt,
Susan Cadogan,
Hardrive,
Reagan Youth,
Black Sheep,
Mr. Review,
The Knickerbockers,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
David Axelrod,
Excepter,
The Fortunes,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Ronnie Foster,
Pantaleimon,
Janne Schatter,
The Gap Band,
ABC,
Lyres, Lyres, Lyres, Lyres.
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.