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 Haiti and from Accra.
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 1967 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the spring reverb 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 Gabor Szabo to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 X-Ray Spex. All the underground hits.
All John Foxx tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hot Snakes 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Motions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Kayak,
Scott Walker,
Erykah Badu,
The Real Kids,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Aaron Thompson,
John Coltrane,
Piero Umiliani,
The Gories,
Freddie Wadling,
Marcia Griffiths,
The J.B.'s,
Jesper Dahlback,
Josef K,
Wings,
The Tremeloes,
Oneida,
Carl Craig,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Rosa Yemen,
Aloha Tigers,
Eddi Front,
The Gap Band,
Jimmy McGriff,
Eyeless In Gaza,
The Smiths,
Black Moon,
Alton Ellis,
LL Cool J,
Lucky Dragons,
the Swans,
Scrapy,
Motorama,
Spandau Ballet,
Chrome,
Harry Pussy,
Soulsonic Force,
Von Mondo,
Stiv Bators,
Japan,
Soul Sonic Force,
Tubeway Army,
the Fania All-Stars,
Wire,
Con Funk Shun,
Skriet,
Cluster,
Groovy Waters,
Sister Nancy,
Stetsasonic,
Sugar Minott,
Warsaw,
Wolf Eyes,
Yusef Lateef,
Ice-T,
These Immortal Souls,
Dawn Penn,
Ultra Naté,
Terry Callier,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Fall,
Peter and Kerry, Peter and Kerry, Peter and Kerry, Peter and Kerry.
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.