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 Venezuela and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1967 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Halifax.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 synthesizer 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 Smoke to the grime 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 De La Soul & Jungle Brothers. All the underground hits.
All Siglo XX tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Roy Ayers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Eli Mardock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The American Breed,
Fela Kuti,
Fat Boys,
L. Decosne,
Reagan Youth,
JFA,
Drive Like Jehu,
Jawbox,
The Vogues,
Drexciya,
Iggy Pop,
Bluetip,
The Mummies,
The Electric Prunes,
Niagra,
Derrick Morgan,
Rosa Yemen,
The Fortunes,
Desert Stars,
Bootsy Collins,
Pere Ubu,
Roxy Music,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Tim Buckley,
Fear,
Qualms,
The Raincoats,
Wire,
David Axelrod,
Animal Collective,
In Retrospect,
Dead Boys,
Whodini,
Donny Hathaway,
Jerry Gold Smith,
The Residents,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
The Leaves,
Colin Newman,
Das Ding,
Audionom,
Minny Pops,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Alison Limerick,
Robert Görl,
Barry Ungar,
Skriet,
Ponytail,
Marmalade,
The Fugs,
Peter & Gordon,
The Tremeloes,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Dennis Brown,
Mark Hollis,
Yazoo,
Black Moon,
Hashim,
Eden Ahbez,
The Mojo Men,
Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan.
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.