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 Switzerland and from Beijing.
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 1965 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 Big Star practice in a loft in Memphis.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Louis and Bebe Barron to the punk kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Trumans Water. All the underground hits.
All Skriet tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Blancmange record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap 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 an arpeggiator and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Au Pairs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Nas,
Scott Walker,
The Dave Clark Five,
X-102,
Das Ding,
the Normal,
Clear Light,
Jerry's Kids,
Dark Day,
48th St. Collective,
Patti Smith,
Cal Tjader,
Blossom Toes,
The Five Americans,
D'Angelo,
The Detroit Cobras,
Ten City,
Arab on Radar,
Man Eating Sloth,
Spandau Ballet,
Ultra Naté,
Lebanon Hanover,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Aural Exciters,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Unrelated Segments,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Jacob Miller,
The Stooges,
Amon Düül,
June Days,
Chrome,
Eric Copeland,
Altered Images,
Livin' Joy,
The Motions,
PIL,
The Mojo Men,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Aloha Tigers,
Gregory Isaacs,
Sällskapet,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Vogues,
Mars,
Little Man,
The Remains,
Gerry Rafferty,
Echospace,
The Zeros,
Black Flag,
Roger Hodgson,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Grey Daturas,
Kurtis Blow,
Scrapy,
The Sonics,
Joey Negro,
Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan.
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.