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 Seychelles and from Tokyo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Basic Channel to the disco kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All Terror Squad Feat. Camron tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cal Tjader 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gang Gang Dance record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Techniques,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Blake Baxter,
The Mojo Men,
Youth Brigade,
John Coltrane,
Jimmy McGriff,
Warsaw,
Colin Newman,
Deepchord,
Shoche,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Masters at Work,
The Happenings,
Tubeway Army,
The Blackbyrds,
Kurtis Blow,
Zero Boys,
Scientists,
Stetsasonic,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Neu!,
Bob Dylan,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Sonny Sharrock,
Procol Harum,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Sandy B,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
the Swans,
Man Parrish,
The Busters,
LL Cool J,
Lucky Dragons,
Smog,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Black Sheep,
Lalo Schifrin,
Carl Craig,
Make Up,
Man Eating Sloth,
The Durutti Column,
Heaven 17,
June Days,
Easy Going,
Malaria!,
Dorothy Ashby,
Patti Smith,
Marc Almond,
Alphaville,
Arcadia,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Ralphi Rosario,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
The Young Rascals,
Suburban Knight,
Vainqueur,
Black Bananas,
Moss Icon,
Johnny Clarke,
The American Breed,
Von Mondo, Von Mondo, Von Mondo, Von Mondo.
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.