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 Vanuatu and from Houston.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1960 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Glasgow and Sao Paulo.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the güiro 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 Minutemen to the rock kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 The Golliwogs. All the underground hits.
All Audionom tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Knickerbockers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Blackbyrds record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Albert Ayler,
The Moleskins,
Roxette,
The Buckinghams,
These Immortal Souls,
the Bar-Kays,
Bluetip,
The Trojans,
The Techniques,
Simply Red,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Wolf Eyes,
Nico,
Monks,
Massinfluence,
Rufus Thomas,
Reuben Wilson,
Marine Girls,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Amazonics,
The Standells,
Accadde A,
Danielle Patucci,
The Tremeloes,
Aural Exciters,
The Blues Magoos,
Minnie Riperton,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Johnny Osbourne,
Davy DMX,
ABC,
Dark Day,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
The Gap Band,
Marvin Gaye,
Subhumans,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Gladiators,
The Leaves,
Janne Schatter,
Avey Tare,
Charles Mingus,
Lee Hazlewood,
The Misunderstood,
The Fortunes,
Oblivians,
Mad Mike,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
The Human League,
Young Marble Giants,
PIL,
Aloha Tigers,
AZ,
Flipper,
the Germs,
Throbbing Gristle,
Deadbeat,
Babytalk,
Shuggie Otis, Shuggie Otis, Shuggie Otis, Shuggie Otis.
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.