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 and from Tehran.
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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Deepchord to the funk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 World's Most. All the underground hits.
All The Velvet Underground tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every the Germs record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Man Parrish record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Leonard Cohen,
Darondo,
Anthony Braxton,
Kerrie Biddell,
Marc Almond,
Kevin Saunderson,
Tim Buckley,
Gregory Isaacs,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Skriet,
Camouflage,
Babytalk,
Morten Harket,
Bobby Byrd,
Patti Smith,
Rufus Thomas,
Reuben Wilson,
The Fortunes,
Swell Maps,
cv313,
Jandek,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Q65,
Theoretical Girls,
In Retrospect,
Erykah Badu,
Swans,
Joe Smooth,
Pagans,
The Flesh Eaters,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Duran Duran,
the Swans,
The Blues Magoos,
Boz Scaggs,
Ronnie Foster,
Minny Pops,
Mo-Dettes,
Cheater Slicks,
Flipper,
Kurtis Blow,
Matthew Halsall,
Howard Jones,
Alphaville,
Cecil Taylor,
The Red Krayola,
Delta 5,
a-ha,
Yusef Lateef,
Donny Hathaway,
The Count Five,
The Gladiators,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
New Order,
Anakelly,
The Offenders,
Skarface,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Reagan Youth, Reagan Youth, Reagan Youth, Reagan Youth.
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.