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 Morocco and from Toronto.
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 1960 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Bologna.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 at the first Suicide practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Pylon to the rap kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Gerry Rafferty. All the underground hits.
All Flash Fearless tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Soul Sonic Force 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bad Manners record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Accadde A,
Avey Tare,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Ken Boothe,
Mary Jane Girls,
Aaron Thompson,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Yusef Lateef,
Gregory Isaacs,
Fat Boys,
The Gories,
Morten Harket,
Camouflage,
Interpol,
Loose Ends,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Vladislav Delay,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Jawbox,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
R.M.O.,
Grauzone,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Delta 5,
Easy Going,
The Pretty Things,
Barry Ungar,
Davy DMX,
Barclay James Harvest,
Harmonia,
Bluetip,
Moss Icon,
Stereo Dub,
Panda Bear,
Glambeats Corp.,
Inner City,
The Blues Magoos,
Girls At Our Best!,
Matthew Halsall,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Intrusion,
Neil Young,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Crispy Ambulance,
Half Japanese,
Anthony Braxton,
EPMD,
The Human League,
The Misunderstood,
Howard Jones,
The Birthday Party,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Tremeloes,
The Knickerbockers,
The Selecter,
L. Decosne,
OOIOO,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Bauhaus,
John Lydon,
Crispian St. Peters,
Jandek, Jandek, Jandek, Jandek.
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.