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 Senegal and from Woodstock.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1961 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tokyo and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Silicon Teens to the grunge 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 Graham Central Station. All the underground hits.
All Ajijia Myrayebe tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Mummies record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and an oboe 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 chamberlin and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The Real Kids,
The Durutti Column,
Moby Grape,
Danielle Patucci,
Public Enemy,
Donny Hathaway,
The Knickerbockers,
Wolf Eyes,
LL Cool J,
Warren Ellis,
Rites of Spring,
Ice-T,
The Busters,
Adolescents,
Davy DMX,
Royal Trux,
Amon Düül,
Von Mondo,
Khruangbin,
Lebanon Hanover,
Cluster,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Eden Ahbez,
Jacques Brel,
The Smoke,
Rapeman,
Barrington Levy,
Nick Fraelich,
Frankie Knuckles,
Radio Birdman,
Jeff Lynne,
Outsiders,
Bill Wells,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Marvin Gaye,
Silicon Teens,
Ken Boothe,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
The Black Dice,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Basic Channel,
The Happenings,
Unwound,
Absolute Body Control,
Delon & Dalcan,
Nation of Ulysses,
Trumans Water,
Bauhaus,
Ralphi Rosario,
UT,
The Move,
Brothers Johnson,
Kayak,
Vladislav Delay,
Au Pairs,
Kerrie Biddell,
Matthew Bourne,
Jawbox,
DJ Sneak,
The Cowsills,
Lalo Schifrin,
Oneida, Oneida, Oneida, Oneida.
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.