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 Rwanda and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1964 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Human League to the funk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Mummies. All the underground hits.
All Fela Kuti tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Todd Terry 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Magazine record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lungfish,
Yusef Lateef,
Average White Band,
Pylon,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Golliwogs,
Lower 48,
The Saints,
The Busters,
Hot Snakes,
Dennis Brown,
Jerry's Kids,
Isaac Hayes,
Swans,
Electric Prunes,
The Smiths,
a-ha,
the Slits,
Donald Byrd,
Kerrie Biddell,
Nik Kershaw,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Terrestrial Tones,
Robert Görl,
Funky Four + One,
Lalo Schifrin,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Soulsonic Force,
Nils Olav,
Ornette Coleman,
Pole,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Juan Atkins,
Wolf Eyes,
Black Pus,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
The Zeros,
Johnny Osbourne,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Spandau Ballet,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Black Sheep,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Nico,
Letta Mbulu,
Jesper Dahlback,
The Doors,
Suburban Knight,
Magma,
The Durutti Column,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Sex Pistols,
Fat Boys,
Ice-T,
John Coltrane,
Buzzcocks,
Bronski Beat,
MC5,
Stetsasonic,
Fluxion, Fluxion, Fluxion, Fluxion.
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.