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 Macedonia and from Seoul.
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 1962 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the 808 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 Kerri Chandler to the rock 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 Theoretical Girls. All the underground hits.
All R.M.O. tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lafayette Afro Rock Band 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Cameo record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Slave,
Ornette Coleman,
Eric Copeland,
Khruangbin,
The Birthday Party,
The United States of America,
Section 25,
Jawbox,
Moebius,
K-Klass,
Harmonia,
One Last Wish,
Inner City,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Tears for Fears,
Organ,
Royal Trux,
Hoover,
The Trojans,
the Bar-Kays,
Patti Smith,
Wally Richardson,
Black Flag,
Mary Jane Girls,
Jimmy McGriff,
Essential Logic,
James White and The Blacks,
Terry Callier,
Gang Green,
The Techniques,
Public Image Ltd.,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Colin Newman,
Gregory Isaacs,
Heaven 17,
the Sonics,
Warsaw,
Neil Young,
Crispy Ambulance,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Main Source,
Rapeman,
The Seeds,
Jeru the Damaja,
In Retrospect,
Godley & Creme,
Funkadelic,
Marc Almond,
Amon Düül II,
Moby Grape,
Von Mondo,
Harry Pussy,
Masters at Work,
Glenn Branca,
Qualms,
Traffic Nightmare,
FM Einheit,
The Flesh Eaters,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Franke,
Monolake,
Absolute Body Control,
Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra.
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.