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 Egypt and from Paris.
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 1968 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Gil Scott Heron to the funk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Normal. All the underground hits.
All Country Joe & The Fish tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Grandmaster Flash record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gil Scott Heron record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Steve Hackett,
Moby Grape,
The Velvet Underground,
Minny Pops,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Trojans,
The Index,
The Skatalites,
48th St. Collective,
Television Personalities,
Anthony Braxton,
Yusef Lateef,
Heaven 17,
Motorama,
The Dave Clark Five,
Outsiders,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Names,
The Wake,
The Durutti Column,
The Move,
Von Mondo,
Average White Band,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Lightning Bolt,
The Electric Prunes,
Lungfish,
The Real Kids,
Visage,
Zapp,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Flash Fearless,
Robert Görl,
Second Layer,
Thompson Twins,
Fort Wilson Riot,
The Sonics,
Nils Olav,
The Divine Comedy,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Unwound,
Maurizio,
The Flesh Eaters,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Skarface,
Panda Bear,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Crispy Ambulance,
Jawbox,
Dark Day,
Roxette,
Aswad,
New Order,
Amon Düül II,
The Slackers,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The American Breed,
Michelle Simonal,
Deadbeat,
Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks.
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.