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 Nepal and from Philadelphia.
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 1966 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the guitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Real Kids to the punk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Oppenheimer Analysis. All the underground hits.
All Flamin' Groovies tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Doors 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Oblivians record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Trojans,
the Sonics,
Sarah Menescal,
The Blues Magoos,
Gang Gang Dance,
Kool Moe Dee,
The Sonics,
These Immortal Souls,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Lucky Dragons,
The Doobie Brothers,
the Fania All-Stars,
Sugar Minott,
Junior Murvin,
The Wake,
Sam Rivers,
Jerry's Kids,
Deadbeat,
Alphaville,
Agent Orange,
Supertramp,
Q65,
Wasted Youth,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Peter and Kerry,
Pylon,
Lebanon Hanover,
H. Thieme,
Duran Duran,
Gong,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Popol Vuh,
Peter & Gordon,
the Bar-Kays,
The Beau Brummels,
The Velvet Underground,
Girls At Our Best!,
One Last Wish,
Blake Baxter,
James Chance & The Contortions,
The Fire Engines,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Joe Finger,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Japan,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Drexciya,
The Black Dice,
Nik Kershaw,
Pole,
Intrusion,
Jawbox,
Tomorrow,
The Leaves,
The Doors,
Skarface,
Pere Ubu,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The Modern Lovers,
The Neon Judgement,
Pantytec,
Ultra Naté,
Saccharine Trust, Saccharine Trust, Saccharine Trust, Saccharine Trust.
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.