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 Guinea-Bissau and from Manchester.
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 1965 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Gary Puckett & The Union Gap to the grunge kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Groovy Waters. All the underground hits.
All Jimmy McGriff tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Fatback Band record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Leaves record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Von Mondo,
The Saints,
Amon Düül II,
Bluetip,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Delon & Dalcan,
Basic Channel,
Nas,
Terry Callier,
The New Christs,
The Slits,
Oneida,
The Cowsills,
In Retrospect,
Bill Wells,
Letta Mbulu,
The Electric Prunes,
Faraquet,
Minnie Riperton,
The Gories,
Bad Manners,
Skaos,
Bronski Beat,
Groovy Waters,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Patti Smith,
Unrelated Segments,
Colin Newman,
Michelle Simonal,
Gang Green,
Zapp,
Au Pairs,
The Detroit Cobras,
Theoretical Girls,
The Standells,
The Dead C,
Angry Samoans,
Wings,
Isaac Hayes,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Reuben Wilson,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
DNA,
Yazoo,
Pussy Galore,
Eurythmics,
Steve Hackett,
Judy Mowatt,
the Germs,
T. Rex,
Marc Almond,
Eric Copeland,
Darondo,
Joyce Sims,
Altered Images,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Skarface,
Lebanon Hanover,
Alton Ellis,
Joey Negro, Joey Negro, Joey Negro, Joey Negro.
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.