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 South Sudan and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Throbbing Gristle show in London.
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 1967 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Glasgow and Toronto.
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 sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Bush Tetras 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 Ice-T. All the underground hits.
All Scrapy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Marvin Gaye 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 spring reverb and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Absolute Body Control record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Bootsy Collins,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Shoche,
Bizarre Inc.,
Young Marble Giants,
Newcleus,
Joey Negro,
Janne Schatter,
Hoover,
Bobby Sherman,
EPMD,
T. Rex,
Magazine,
Sun Ra,
a-ha,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Reuben Wilson,
Oblivians,
Audionom,
The Birthday Party,
DJ Style,
Theoretical Girls,
Marine Girls,
Roxette,
Motorama,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Tommy Roe,
Nation of Ulysses,
The Offenders,
Yazoo,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Unwound,
The Cure,
The Five Americans,
Stockholm Monsters,
The Martian,
Cecil Taylor,
Inner City,
X-102,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Eric B and Rakim,
Ohio Players,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Star Department,
Tropical Tobacco,
Index,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Chris Corsano,
Terrestrial Tones,
Dennis Brown,
Kas Product,
The Velvet Underground,
The Gories,
Barry Ungar,
China Crisis,
Lebanon Hanover,
Maleditus Sound,
JFA,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Ultra Naté,
Max Romeo, Max Romeo, Max Romeo, Max Romeo.
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.