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 Bahrain and from Manchester.
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 1961 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the güiro 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 Reagan Youth to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Rapeman. All the underground hits.
All The Human League tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Leonard Cohen record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance 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 harpsichord and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Drexciya record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Al Stewart,
John Coltrane,
Quantec,
Whodini,
Cybotron,
John Lydon,
Public Image Ltd.,
Fat Boys,
The Moody Blues,
Sarah Menescal,
Von Mondo,
Fear,
Soft Cell,
The Beau Brummels,
Faust,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Fatback Band,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
8 Eyed Spy,
Toni Rubio,
Cecil Taylor,
Buzzcocks,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Jesper Dahlback,
Reagan Youth,
Lucky Dragons,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Martian,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
L. Decosne,
Public Enemy,
Avey Tare,
Ohio Players,
Curtis Mayfield,
Scrapy,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Wire,
Camberwell Now,
Minor Threat,
The Gap Band,
Funky Four + One,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
The Slits,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Pop Group,
Peter and Kerry,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Steve Hackett,
Barrington Levy,
The Dave Clark Five,
Silicon Teens,
Danielle Patucci,
Judy Mowatt,
World's Most,
DJ Sneak,
The Doors,
Agent Orange,
Frankie Knuckles,
Urselle,
Circle Jerks,
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.