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 Pakistan and from Columbus.
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 1960 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Johannesburg.
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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Lalann to the rap kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Notorious Big And Bone Thugs. All the underground hits.
All The Fuzztones tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Gregory Isaacs record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Drive Like Jehu record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sun Ra,
Brick,
The Blackbyrds,
Marine Girls,
Wolf Eyes,
Don Cherry,
Eve St. Jones,
Ten City,
Nik Kershaw,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Terrestrial Tones,
Ituana,
the Bar-Kays,
Lucky Dragons,
The Move,
Con Funk Shun,
Severed Heads,
Barbara Tucker,
Slick Rick,
the Fania All-Stars,
Kerri Chandler,
Make Up,
Nick Fraelich,
Ossler,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
F. McDonald,
These Immortal Souls,
The Durutti Column,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Mars,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Hashim,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Cymande,
the Association,
Easy Going,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Chris & Cosey,
The Star Department,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Martian,
Absolute Body Control,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Five Americans,
Brothers Johnson,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Newcleus,
Pole,
Procol Harum,
Ultravox,
Cecil Taylor,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Archie Shepp,
Jawbox,
Johnny Osbourne,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Crime,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Public Enemy,
Blancmange,
The Smoke, The Smoke, The Smoke, The Smoke.
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.