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 Guinea-Bissau and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Albert Ayler to the techno 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 The Shadows of Knight. All the underground hits.
All Joy Division tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Rites of Spring record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Happenings record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rhythm & Sound,
The Index,
Cluster,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Bad Manners,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Divine Comedy,
Aloha Tigers,
The Litter,
Animal Collective,
Mars,
Pole,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Duran Duran,
K-Klass,
Bronski Beat,
Hot Snakes,
The Fall,
Black Pus,
Ultra Naté,
DJ Sneak,
Suburban Knight,
Stereo Dub,
Livin' Joy,
The Invisible,
The Velvet Underground,
the Bar-Kays,
Barclay James Harvest,
Franke,
Scion,
Malaria!,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Ituana,
Deepchord,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Barry Ungar,
48th St. Collective,
Connie Case,
Roxy Music,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
In Retrospect,
Arthur Verocai,
Siglo XX,
Fat Boys,
Dawn Penn,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Radiopuhelimet,
Lebanon Hanover,
Isaac Hayes,
8 Eyed Spy,
The Monks,
New York Dolls,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Toasters,
Bang On A Can,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Howard Jones,
OOIOO,
Hasil Adkins,
Fear, Fear, Fear, Fear.
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.