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 Congo and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1963 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Porter Ricks to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Neu!. All the underground hits.
All Sam Rivers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Vaughan Mason & Crew record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Oblivians record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Groovy Waters,
Don Cherry,
The Standells,
Harry Pussy,
Babytalk,
The Fortunes,
The Last Poets,
Sixth Finger,
Aloha Tigers,
Gichy Dan,
The Count Five,
The Techniques,
Arab on Radar,
Agitation Free,
One Last Wish,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Scratch Acid,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
The Cure,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Amon Düül,
Glenn Branca,
Main Source,
Eric B and Rakim,
Tropical Tobacco,
The Saints,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Lou Reed,
The Moody Blues,
Bronski Beat,
Jacob Miller,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Mummies,
The Associates,
The Monks,
The Raincoats,
Faraquet,
Scientists,
Jacques Brel,
Infiniti,
Amazonics,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Reuben Wilson,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Trojans,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Gang of Four,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Slits,
The Tremeloes,
Second Layer,
Mars,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Minor Threat,
John Foxx,
Lalo Schifrin,
Warren Ellis,
Maleditus Sound,
Morten Harket,
The Zeros,
The New Christs,
Frankie Knuckles, Frankie Knuckles, Frankie Knuckles, Frankie Knuckles.
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.