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 Yemen and from Seoul.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 The Sound to the techno 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 The Index. All the underground hits.
All Newcleus tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Oneida record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sonic Youth record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Bronski Beat,
The Black Dice,
Das Ding,
Model 500,
Soft Cell,
The Golliwogs,
Excepter,
Junior Murvin,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
AZ,
Kaleidoscope,
The Fall,
Half Japanese,
Aaron Thompson,
Jimmy McGriff,
Cheater Slicks,
Radio Birdman,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Morten Harket,
Angry Samoans,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Public Image Ltd.,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Sixth Finger,
June Days,
The J.B.'s,
Davy DMX,
Symarip,
Barclay James Harvest,
The Barracudas,
Marshall Jefferson,
Accadde A,
The Tremeloes,
X-101,
FM Einheit,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Johnny Clarke,
June of 44,
Terry Callier,
Ice-T,
Niagra,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Matthew Bourne,
Sound Behaviour,
Pylon,
Quantec,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Aswad,
Rakim,
Lindisfarne,
Hardrive,
Ken Boothe,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Rapeman,
Dead Boys,
Eddi Front,
Negative Approach, Negative Approach, Negative Approach, Negative Approach.
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.