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 Serbia and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1965 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 EPMD to the rock kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Golliwogs. All the underground hits.
All Ralphi Rosario tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every China Crisis record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Deadbeat record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Minutemen,
Cecil Taylor,
The Velvet Underground,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
CMW,
The Fortunes,
Kenny Larkin,
Ultravox,
Scion,
Bobby Sherman,
Soft Machine,
The Techniques,
Barry Ungar,
Boogie Down Productions,
Roxy Music,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Joensuu 1685,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Public Image Ltd.,
Oblivians,
K-Klass,
The Seeds,
Hashim,
Gastr Del Sol,
Country Teasers,
Rakim,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Faraquet,
David McCallum,
Warren Ellis,
Jesper Dahlback,
Neu!,
John Holt,
Bill Near,
Jandek,
Sparks,
Ultimate Spinach,
Deakin,
Anthony Braxton,
Johnny Osbourne,
This Heat,
Model 500,
Lalo Schifrin,
Masters at Work,
Mission of Burma,
Prince Buster,
the Fania All-Stars,
Sonny Sharrock,
Derrick Morgan,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Howard Jones,
Chris & Cosey,
DNA,
Jimmy McGriff,
Drive Like Jehu,
Panda Bear,
Depeche Mode,
Cheater Slicks,
Minor Threat,
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.