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 Ivory Coast and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 spring reverb 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 Lucky Dragons to the grime kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Adolescents. All the underground hits.
All Toni Rubio tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Leaves record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime 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 an arpeggiator and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Glenn Branca record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gerry Rafferty,
Q65,
Heaven 17,
Jeff Mills,
Black Bananas,
The Techniques,
Infiniti,
Rufus Thomas,
June Days,
Bang On A Can,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
EPMD,
Rhythm & Sound,
Technova,
Ohio Players,
the Swans,
Gong,
Q and Not U,
Lee Hazlewood,
Roxy Music,
Wings,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
The Selecter,
Max Romeo,
Babytalk,
Minor Threat,
Soft Cell,
Brass Construction,
The Cure,
L. Decosne,
Susan Cadogan,
Slave,
Lakeside,
The United States of America,
Gang Starr,
Metal Thangz,
Mo-Dettes,
Silicon Teens,
Kerrie Biddell,
Stereo Dub,
Archie Shepp,
Niagra,
a-ha,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
In Retrospect,
Rotary Connection,
U.S. Maple,
Scrapy,
Urselle,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Fort Wilson Riot,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Faraquet,
Avey Tare,
Bobby Sherman,
The Sound,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Connie Case,
Robert Wyatt, Robert Wyatt, Robert Wyatt, Robert Wyatt.
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.