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 Switzerland and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 organ 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 Reuben Wilson to the rock kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 The Smoke. All the underground hits.
All Harmonia tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sexual Harrassment record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Marmalade record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
New York Dolls,
Gang of Four,
The Doors,
Gang Starr,
Erasure,
Saccharine Trust,
Oneida,
Guru Guru,
Harmonia,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Happenings,
Khruangbin,
Bizarre Inc.,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Scott Walker,
Maurizio,
Crash Course in Science,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Chrome,
Absolute Body Control,
Groovy Waters,
Amon Düül,
Yellowson,
The Music Machine,
the Human League,
Technova,
Byron Stingily,
Hardrive,
ABBA,
The Zeros,
U.S. Maple,
Slick Rick,
Scion,
The Tremeloes,
David Bowie,
Deadbeat,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Erykah Badu,
Lyres,
Pet Shop Boys,
The Flesh Eaters,
Quantec,
Ultimate Spinach,
Freddie Wadling,
Youth Brigade,
Fela Kuti,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Oblivians,
Hashim,
The Gap Band,
Marvin Gaye,
Gil Scott Heron,
Kevin Saunderson,
Nik Kershaw,
The Slits,
Jandek,
Organ,
Eli Mardock,
John Cale,
Model 500, Model 500, Model 500, Model 500.
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.