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 Bosnia Herzegovina and from New York.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 marimba sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 The Slits to the rock kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Ultra Naté. All the underground hits.
All Camouflage tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bang On A Can 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James Chance & The Contortions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
MC5,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
The Happenings,
The Blackbyrds,
Barclay James Harvest,
Quantec,
Sexual Harrassment,
X-102,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Wings,
The Techniques,
The Shadows of Knight,
Boz Scaggs,
Sex Pistols,
The Music Machine,
Sparks,
New Order,
Basic Channel,
Pagans,
Soul Sonic Force,
Aaron Thompson,
Intrusion,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Alphaville,
Leonard Cohen,
the Normal,
Joey Negro,
Pet Shop Boys,
David Axelrod,
Erykah Badu,
Rotary Connection,
Max Romeo,
Pole,
Archie Shepp,
Gang Starr,
the Germs,
Jeff Lynne,
The Litter,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Bob Dylan,
Robert Wyatt,
Gang Gang Dance,
Dorothy Ashby,
B.T. Express,
Roxy Music,
One Last Wish,
cv313,
Spoonie Gee,
Simply Red,
The Slackers,
Gong,
Ralphi Rosario,
Lebanon Hanover,
Chrome,
The Wake,
Roxette,
The Doors,
Deepchord,
Kenny Larkin,
Grey Daturas,
Flipper,
Scrapy,
The Beau Brummels,
Dead Boys, Dead Boys, Dead Boys, Dead Boys.
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.