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 Slovakia and from Johannesburg.
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 1965 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Woodstock 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the mellotron 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 The Saints to the rock kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Bang on a Can All-Stars. All the underground hits.
All Au Pairs tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Pretty Things 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Alice Coltrane record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The American Breed,
One Last Wish,
The Busters,
AZ,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Banda Bassotti,
The Zeros,
Neil Young,
Gang Green,
Sixth Finger,
Hasil Adkins,
Can,
Peter and Kerry,
Ossler,
Make Up,
Jawbox,
Arcadia,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Chris Corsano,
Tom Boy,
T.S.O.L.,
Freddie Wadling,
Talk Talk,
The Fall,
Little Man,
Tres Demented,
Electric Prunes,
Lindisfarne,
Moebius,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Toasters,
E-Dancer,
Faraquet,
Saccharine Trust,
Joe Finger,
Lou Reed,
The Electric Prunes,
Crispy Ambulance,
X-101,
The Gladiators,
Wolf Eyes,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Arthur Verocai,
The Moody Blues,
Sällskapet,
Morten Harket,
Scott Walker,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Camberwell Now,
Loose Ends,
Hashim,
Depeche Mode,
Albert Ayler,
Scientists,
Babytalk,
Ronan,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Cecil Taylor,
Grauzone,
Sonny Sharrock,
Bush Tetras,
Barry Ungar,
Skarface,
Second Layer,
the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays, the Bar-Kays.
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.