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 Equatorial Guinea and from Portland.
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 1965 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Johnny Clarke to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Pretty Things. All the underground hits.
All Grauzone tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every June Days record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Evens record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Moebius,
Black Pus,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Standells,
Carl Craig,
The Alarm Clocks,
Con Funk Shun,
Easy Going,
Animal Collective,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Soulsonic Force,
The Martian,
Eurythmics,
Urselle,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Black Dice,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Sun Ra,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
X-101,
Motorama,
Electric Prunes,
PIL,
Blossom Toes,
Freddie Wadling,
Nation of Ulysses,
the Normal,
MC5,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Sun City Girls,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Dawn Penn,
Whodini,
a-ha,
Agent Orange,
Zero Boys,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
The Music Machine,
FM Einheit,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Lou Reed,
Girls At Our Best!,
Erykah Badu,
Mo-Dettes,
Clear Light,
Albert Ayler,
Bang On A Can,
Brass Construction,
The Gories,
Public Image Ltd.,
New Age Steppers,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
F. McDonald,
The Shadows of Knight,
Eyeless In Gaza,
The Doors,
Henry Cow,
Bobby Byrd,
John Foxx,
Neu!,
Oblivians, Oblivians, Oblivians, Oblivians.
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.