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 Palau and from Hong Kong.
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 1966 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Sarah Menescal to the jazz 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 Easy Going. All the underground hits.
All Amon Düül II tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lou Reed 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Fugs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Yusef Lateef,
Goldenarms,
Dual Sessions,
Sunsets and Hearts,
DJ Sneak,
Lou Christie,
Rites of Spring,
Delon & Dalcan,
Howard Jones,
Guru Guru,
The Dave Clark Five,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
the Fania All-Stars,
Barclay James Harvest,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Rekid,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Niagra,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Erykah Badu,
LL Cool J,
Bauhaus,
The Detroit Cobras,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Slick Rick,
Alphaville,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
The Moleskins,
Black Pus,
Subhumans,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Gerry Rafferty,
The Wake,
Roxy Music,
Gang Starr,
Deadbeat,
Main Source,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Brass Construction,
The Dirtbombs,
Talk Talk,
Silicon Teens,
Rod Modell,
Royal Trux,
Urselle,
Section 25,
Bang On A Can,
Theoretical Girls,
Connie Case,
Grandmaster Flash,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Red Krayola,
Delta 5,
The Human League,
The Smiths,
Tears for Fears,
The Star Department,
Zapp, Zapp, Zapp, Zapp.
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.