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 Antigua 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 1960 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Houston.
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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane to the disco kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Bill Near. All the underground hits.
All Absolute Body Control tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Angels of Light & Akron/Family record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 marimba and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lightning Bolt record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jeff Mills,
Livin' Joy,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Vainqueur,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Bill Wells,
Ronan,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Matthew Halsall,
Oneida,
48th St. Collective,
Todd Rundgren,
Boogie Down Productions,
La Düsseldorf,
The Leaves,
Index,
Fugazi,
The Electric Prunes,
The Martian,
Alphaville,
Theoretical Girls,
Archie Shepp,
Goldenarms,
the Germs,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Modern Lovers,
Deadbeat,
The Buckinghams,
The Smoke,
Panda Bear,
Con Funk Shun,
Robert Hood,
Byron Stingily,
Lungfish,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Nik Kershaw,
John Cale,
Bill Near,
Nirvana,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Aswad,
Moebius,
Tres Demented,
Pantaleimon,
Lucky Dragons,
Q and Not U,
Anakelly,
Nico,
The Fugs,
Eric Copeland,
The Offenders,
Patti Smith,
Stereo Dub,
The Skatalites,
Lyres,
James White and The Blacks,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Bauhaus,
Gang Green, Gang Green, Gang Green, Gang Green.
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.