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 Equatorial Guinea and from Johannesburg.
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 1962 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Bologna.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 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 In Retrospect to the grime 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 James Chance & The Contortions. All the underground hits.
All Gian Franco Pienzio tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Raincoats record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Delta 5 record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Spandau Ballet,
Anakelly,
Sparks,
Mr. Review,
The Tremeloes,
Metal Thangz,
Kayak,
June of 44,
Franke,
Arthur Verocai,
JFA,
Essential Logic,
Funkadelic,
Eddi Front,
Procol Harum,
Malaria!,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Andrew Hill,
Eric Dolphy,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
8 Eyed Spy,
Stockholm Monsters,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Radio Birdman,
Chris & Cosey,
Youth Brigade,
Massinfluence,
Ornette Coleman,
Absolute Body Control,
Faust,
Junior Murvin,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Last Poets,
Colin Newman,
The Five Americans,
Jeff Lynne,
Amon Düül II,
Man Parrish,
Pulsallama,
Adolescents,
Los Fastidios,
Tres Demented,
The Smiths,
Eurythmics,
Byron Stingily,
Letta Mbulu,
Radiohead,
Crispian St. Peters,
Lower 48,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Peter and Kerry,
Subhumans,
The Birthday Party,
Flamin' Groovies,
Infiniti,
Suburban Knight,
Urselle,
The Move,
Gastr Del Sol,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Cheater Slicks,
Rotary Connection, Rotary Connection, Rotary Connection, Rotary Connection.
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.