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 Djibouti and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1968 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 theremin 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 Hoover to the grime kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Lakeside. All the underground hits.
All David Bowie tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Peter and Kerry 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Barry Ungar record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Todd Terry,
Cybotron,
K-Klass,
David Bowie,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Panda Bear,
Aural Exciters,
Dark Day,
Sugar Minott,
Rapeman,
Hasil Adkins,
Black Flag,
Crispian St. Peters,
Bob Dylan,
Lower 48,
Jeff Lynne,
Swans,
Suburban Knight,
Infiniti,
DJ Sneak,
The Black Dice,
Jandek,
Josef K,
The Index,
The J.B.'s,
Zero Boys,
Newcleus,
Supertramp,
Spoonie Gee,
F. McDonald,
Con Funk Shun,
Camberwell Now,
Moby Grape,
Harpers Bizarre,
Crooked Eye,
Marine Girls,
Ultravox,
China Crisis,
Jeru the Damaja,
Hardrive,
Scrapy,
Guru Guru,
Grey Daturas,
The Stooges,
The Music Machine,
The Fuzztones,
Carl Craig,
Moebius,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
H. Thieme,
Janne Schatter,
Rotary Connection,
Nas,
Angry Samoans,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
B.T. Express,
Franke,
Nico,
Dead Boys, Dead Boys, Dead Boys, Dead Boys.
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.