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 Kiribati and from Manila.
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 1969 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Seoul.
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 1962 at the first Guess Who practice in a loft in Winnipeg.
I was working on the marimba 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 FM Einheit to the dance kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 The Red Krayola. All the underground hits.
All Tres Demented tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Sonics 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 spring reverb and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Das Ding record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Searchers,
Dead Boys,
Babytalk,
The Detroit Cobras,
Scrapy,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
The Mojo Men,
Rotary Connection,
Swell Maps,
Ituana,
The Durutti Column,
Deadbeat,
Al Stewart,
Aloha Tigers,
D'Angelo,
Sun Ra,
June of 44,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Scientists,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
The Golliwogs,
the Association,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
The Raincoats,
Susan Cadogan,
Kevin Saunderson,
Black Bananas,
X-102,
Shoche,
Das Ding,
Prince Buster,
Youth Brigade,
Little Man,
Basic Channel,
Juan Atkins,
Sight & Sound,
Be Bop Deluxe,
China Crisis,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
K-Klass,
Eddi Front,
Au Pairs,
The Smoke,
Michelle Simonal,
Sarah Menescal,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Glambeats Corp.,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Peter and Kerry,
Can,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Gong,
The Gladiators,
PIL,
Lakeside,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Johnny Clarke,
Schoolly D, Schoolly D, Schoolly D, Schoolly D.
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.