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 Cape Verde and from New York.
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 1962 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 1983 at the first Lewis practice in a loft in Vancouver.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Unwound to the jazz kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Mark Hollis. All the underground hits.
All The Fugs tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sam Rivers 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pet Shop Boys record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Flamin' Groovies,
Hot Snakes,
The Invisible,
Man Parrish,
Young Marble Giants,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Man Eating Sloth,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
A Certain Ratio,
Marine Girls,
Mandrill,
Skarface,
Colin Newman,
Ultimate Spinach,
Stereo Dub,
Stetsasonic,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Malaria!,
Jeru the Damaja,
Symarip,
Bobby Womack,
The Sound,
Kerri Chandler,
The Doobie Brothers,
MC5,
Agent Orange,
Trumans Water,
Scratch Acid,
Gang of Four,
Kenny Larkin,
U.S. Maple,
Black Flag,
Charles Mingus,
The Last Poets,
Suburban Knight,
Aswad,
Marvin Gaye,
The Saints,
The Walker Brothers,
Cluster,
8 Eyed Spy,
Gil Scott Heron,
Matthew Bourne,
FM Einheit,
Minnie Riperton,
R.M.O.,
Das Ding,
Junior Murvin,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Shadows of Knight,
Dark Day,
Ossler,
Hardrive,
LL Cool J,
Janne Schatter,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Fire Engines,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Brick,
John Foxx,
Icehouse,
Tim Buckley, Tim Buckley, Tim Buckley, Tim Buckley.
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.