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 Comoros and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1969 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Houston.
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 mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Jeru the Damaja to the rock 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 Kerri Chandler. All the underground hits.
All Manfred Mann's Earth Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Neil Young & Crazy Horse record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 a rhodes and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sällskapet record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Associates,
Dennis Brown,
Kurtis Blow,
Michelle Simonal,
MDC,
Derrick Morgan,
the Normal,
Niagra,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Kenny Larkin,
The Real Kids,
Lungfish,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Fluxion,
Jandek,
Icehouse,
Charles Mingus,
Barrington Levy,
The Red Krayola,
Adolescents,
Gong,
Trumans Water,
Faraquet,
Flamin' Groovies,
Young Marble Giants,
In Retrospect,
the Human League,
The Zeros,
The Litter,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
X-102,
Althea and Donna,
The Fall,
Mission of Burma,
Lebanon Hanover,
Lower 48,
Tomorrow,
the Germs,
Sister Nancy,
Swans,
Mars,
Chris & Cosey,
Monks,
Scrapy,
Animal Collective,
The Slits,
Slick Rick,
Funkadelic,
The Fire Engines,
Kerrie Biddell,
Gabor Szabo,
Mantronix,
Jawbox,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Harpers Bizarre,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Magma,
Tres Demented,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Masters at Work,
John Cale,
John Holt,
Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman.
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.