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 Armenia and from Beijing.
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 1966 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Tehran.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks to the punk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Lou Reed & Metallica. All the underground hits.
All Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every H. Thieme record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ponytail record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Pop Group,
Fear,
Mr. Review,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
the Normal,
Pet Shop Boys,
Sugar Minott,
Mad Mike,
Malaria!,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Chrome,
Fugazi,
The Red Krayola,
Roxette,
Sun City Girls,
The New Christs,
Jimmy McGriff,
Cluster,
Marmalade,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Chris & Cosey,
Cameo,
John Holt,
The Fire Engines,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Slackers,
Ossler,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Eric B and Rakim,
Pantytec,
The Velvet Underground,
The Fall,
Flamin' Groovies,
Byron Stingily,
Second Layer,
Popol Vuh,
the Association,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Todd Terry,
Joe Finger,
Khruangbin,
Cheater Slicks,
Colin Newman,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Kerrie Biddell,
DJ Style,
Harry Pussy,
Bob Dylan,
Anthony Braxton,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Schoolly D,
Rufus Thomas,
Pharoah Sanders,
The Golliwogs,
The Modern Lovers,
The Skatalites,
CMW,
Con Funk Shun,
The Victims,
Babytalk,
Slick Rick,
Deakin,
Sparks,
Bluetip, Bluetip, Bluetip, Bluetip.
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.