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 Burundi and from New York.
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 1965 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the marimba 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 Chrome to the rap kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Country Teasers. All the underground hits.
All Eric Copeland tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sunsets and Hearts 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Idris Muhammad record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Schoolly D,
Reagan Youth,
H. Thieme,
Henry Cow,
Parry Music,
The Trojans,
Aswad,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
In Retrospect,
Bill Wells,
Pole,
Johnny Osbourne,
The New Christs,
The Victims,
The Red Krayola,
Gong,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Erykah Badu,
John Lydon,
The Blues Magoos,
The Walker Brothers,
Suburban Knight,
Joe Finger,
The Slackers,
Quando Quango,
Joy Division,
The Zeros,
This Heat,
Whodini,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
B.T. Express,
Dead Boys,
The Smoke,
Nation of Ulysses,
Popol Vuh,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Grauzone,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Lalann,
The Cure,
ABC,
Royal Trux,
Skaos,
Lakeside,
The Black Dice,
Con Funk Shun,
Au Pairs,
the Germs,
Sonny Sharrock,
Marvin Gaye,
The Misunderstood,
The Modern Lovers,
Sun City Girls,
The Detroit Cobras,
Laurel Aitken,
Davy DMX,
Lindisfarne,
The Leaves,
These Immortal Souls,
Kenny Larkin,
ABBA,
The Fugs, The Fugs, The Fugs, The Fugs.
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.