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 Mozambique and from Lille.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Big Star show in Memphis.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Jakarta.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Skarface to the dance kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Gun Club. All the underground hits.
All The Chocolate Watch Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Nirvana record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a X-Ray Spex record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gil Scott Heron,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Talk Talk,
The Zeros,
The Seeds,
Neil Young,
The Divine Comedy,
Franke,
The Golliwogs,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Drexciya,
Gang of Four,
Leonard Cohen,
Sound Behaviour,
Bauhaus,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Babytalk,
Reuben Wilson,
JFA,
Patti Smith,
Desert Stars,
Pulsallama,
Tears for Fears,
Tres Demented,
Section 25,
Curtis Mayfield,
Grey Daturas,
Pantytec,
Can,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Liliput,
Fatback Band,
Derrick Morgan,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Leaves,
The Smoke,
Toni Rubio,
Lee Hazlewood,
Stetsasonic,
Lower 48,
John Foxx,
Mr. Review,
Bush Tetras,
Los Fastidios,
Ornette Coleman,
Public Enemy,
Barbara Tucker,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
John Cale,
Chrome,
New York Dolls,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Glenn Branca,
Chris Corsano,
Newcleus,
Marine Girls,
Rod Modell,
The Slackers,
Mad Mike, Mad Mike, Mad Mike, Mad Mike.
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.