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 Liechtenstein and from Lyon.
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 1968 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the güiro 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 Crime to the rock kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Pussy Galore. All the underground hits.
All Marcia Griffiths tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bobby Hutcherson 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Scratch Acid record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Bar-Kays,
Jeru the Damaja,
Deepchord,
Cymande,
Mission of Burma,
Minutemen,
Black Bananas,
Nils Olav,
Rites of Spring,
The Offenders,
The Fire Engines,
Section 25,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Zero Boys,
Black Pus,
Soft Machine,
Sixth Finger,
New Age Steppers,
The Walker Brothers,
DJ Style,
Glambeats Corp.,
The Monochrome Set,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Joey Negro,
Bill Near,
The Doors,
Wolf Eyes,
The Gun Club,
Piero Umiliani,
The Saints,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
John Cale,
Mark Hollis,
Sex Pistols,
Model 500,
Newcleus,
Bronski Beat,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
MDC,
Gichy Dan,
Archie Shepp,
Lindisfarne,
Moebius,
Cecil Taylor,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Sandy B,
Funky Four + One,
Rekid,
Depeche Mode,
Susan Cadogan,
Jerry's Kids,
Kenny Larkin,
B.T. Express,
The Star Department,
Das Ding,
Sun City Girls,
John Holt,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Scientists, Scientists, Scientists, Scientists.
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.