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 Estonia and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1963 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Halifax.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Houston 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the marimba 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 Swans 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 Rotary Connection. All the underground hits.
All Brand Nubian tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Negative Approach record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Walker Brothers record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Monks,
Jeff Mills,
Albert Ayler,
The Busters,
DJ Sneak,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Smoke,
Ronan,
Toni Rubio,
Whodini,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Procol Harum,
The Music Machine,
Model 500,
The Modern Lovers,
Big Daddy Kane,
the Soft Cell,
Swans,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Deepchord,
Icehouse,
Kaleidoscope,
Scan 7,
the Slits,
The Standells,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Shadows of Knight,
FM Einheit,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Excepter,
Prince Buster,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
The Mummies,
Black Sheep,
The Tremeloes,
CMW,
Glenn Branca,
The Techniques,
Black Flag,
Lalann,
Electric Prunes,
Jimmy McGriff,
Grauzone,
X-102,
Robert Görl,
Smog,
Cal Tjader,
Mo-Dettes,
London Community Gospel Choir,
D'Angelo,
Yusef Lateef,
Barry Ungar,
Jawbox,
Delta 5,
Malaria!,
Sonic Youth,
Agitation Free,
The Grass Roots,
Tomorrow,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Eli Mardock,
Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller.
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.