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 Somalia and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1963 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 The Red Krayola to the rock kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Joe Finger. All the underground hits.
All New York Dolls tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Wake record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 harpsichord and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James Chance & The Contortions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Von Mondo,
Todd Terry,
X-102,
Q and Not U,
The Offenders,
The Kinks,
Tropical Tobacco,
Maleditus Sound,
Animal Collective,
The Birthday Party,
Carl Craig,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Harry Pussy,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Bush Tetras,
A Certain Ratio,
Ornette Coleman,
The Searchers,
the Bar-Kays,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Associates,
Brand Nubian,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Moody Blues,
Unrelated Segments,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Young Rascals,
Lungfish,
The Tremeloes,
Donny Hathaway,
Flipper,
Harmonia,
Stiv Bators,
Tres Demented,
Fatback Band,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Quadrant,
Lakeside,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Ash Ra Tempel,
OOIOO,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Lower 48,
Yaz,
Average White Band,
Maurizio,
Nils Olav,
Wings,
Underground Resistance,
Gastr Del Sol,
Flash Fearless,
Bobby Byrd,
John Lydon,
The Trojans,
New Order,
Shuggie Otis,
Banda Bassotti,
Slave, Slave, Slave, Slave.
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.