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 Papua New Guinea and from Mumbai.
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 1961 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Reagan Youth to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Rahsaan Roland Kirk. All the underground hits.
All Warsaw tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every DNA record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Aswad record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Roger Hodgson,
Brass Construction,
the Swans,
Boredoms,
Con Funk Shun,
Ludus,
Duran Duran,
Buzzcocks,
Brothers Johnson,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
A Certain Ratio,
Derrick Morgan,
Quando Quango,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Siglo XX,
Kerrie Biddell,
Frankie Knuckles,
Niagra,
Rites of Spring,
Whodini,
The Birthday Party,
Nation of Ulysses,
Black Moon,
Porter Ricks,
The Alarm Clocks,
Davy DMX,
Country Teasers,
The Detroit Cobras,
Camouflage,
The Selecter,
Lebanon Hanover,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
the Normal,
Organ,
Lucky Dragons,
Royal Trux,
Blake Baxter,
Yazoo,
Das Ding,
Brick,
Aural Exciters,
the Association,
Gong,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Drive Like Jehu,
Leonard Cohen,
Gang of Four,
PIL,
Deadbeat,
The Dead C,
Infiniti,
Vladislav Delay,
Terry Callier,
Mark Hollis,
Harry Pussy,
Connie Case,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Letta Mbulu,
Isaac Hayes,
The Red Krayola,
Freddie Wadling,
The Invisible,
B.T. Express,
James White and The Blacks,
Jacques Brel, Jacques Brel, Jacques Brel, Jacques Brel.
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.