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 Portugal and from Tehran.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the linndrum 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 Marcia Griffiths to the grunge 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 Smog. All the underground hits.
All Man Eating Sloth tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Inner City record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Eric B and Rakim record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ohio Players,
Crooked Eye,
Country Teasers,
CMW,
Reagan Youth,
the Slits,
Graham Central Station,
The Golliwogs,
Magazine,
A Certain Ratio,
The Cure,
The Gap Band,
The Skatalites,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
D'Angelo,
Cymande,
Tears for Fears,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Ultra Naté,
Frankie Knuckles,
The Fire Engines,
Man Eating Sloth,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Wire,
Jesper Dahlback,
MC5,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Half Japanese,
F. McDonald,
X-Ray Spex,
Sparks,
The Last Poets,
Monolake,
Janne Schatter,
Mandrill,
Kaleidoscope,
Boz Scaggs,
Sight & Sound,
Don Cherry,
Byron Stingily,
Todd Rundgren,
Girls At Our Best!,
Easy Going,
Japan,
X-102,
Gang Gang Dance,
10cc,
a-ha,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Juan Atkins,
Amon Düül,
Camberwell Now,
Inner City,
Yazoo,
Scientists,
Shuggie Otis,
Bootsy Collins,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Avey Tare,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Jacques Brel,
Y Pants,
Porter Ricks,
Scott Walker, Scott Walker, Scott Walker, Scott Walker.
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.