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 Turkmenistan and from Lagos.
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 Shanghai and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 1971 at the first Big Star practice in a loft in Memphis.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Bauhaus to the disco kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Trojans. All the underground hits.
All Eric Dolphy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Negative Approach record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 clarinet and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Charles Mingus record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Crooked Eye,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Motions,
The Slits,
Groovy Waters,
Public Enemy,
Drive Like Jehu,
Little Man,
New Order,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
June Days,
Fatback Band,
Bill Wells,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Excepter,
Jesper Dahlback,
Curtis Mayfield,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Robert Görl,
Negative Approach,
Isaac Hayes,
Gang Starr,
Bobby Byrd,
Rakim,
Monolake,
Joe Finger,
the Human League,
Mission of Burma,
Idris Muhammad,
Lyres,
EPMD,
Lakeside,
Soul Sonic Force,
T. Rex,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Slave,
New Age Steppers,
The Misunderstood,
Angry Samoans,
The Young Rascals,
Maurizio,
The Names,
Derrick Morgan,
Porter Ricks,
Ponytail,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
the Swans,
Moby Grape,
The Dirtbombs,
Ken Boothe,
Prince Buster,
Henry Cow,
Tim Buckley,
Second Layer,
The Five Americans,
Aswad,
Gabor Szabo,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Tommy Roe,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Warsaw,
K-Klass,
Audionom, Audionom, Audionom, Audionom.
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.