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 Panama and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1961 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 mellotron 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 The Evens to the grunge 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 These Immortal Souls. All the underground hits.
All Barrington Levy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Schoolly D 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Isaac Hayes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bobby Womack,
Ultra Naté,
The Associates,
Tres Demented,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Al Stewart,
World's Most,
Slick Rick,
Eve St. Jones,
Whodini,
Zero Boys,
The Victims,
The Smoke,
Spandau Ballet,
The Selecter,
Cecil Taylor,
Scott Walker,
The Real Kids,
Grey Daturas,
Eden Ahbez,
Franke,
Outsiders,
The Sound,
Dennis Brown,
Davy DMX,
Chrome,
New York Dolls,
Joy Division,
Gregory Isaacs,
Wings,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
These Immortal Souls,
Maurizio,
Public Enemy,
Harpers Bizarre,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
the Human League,
Simply Red,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Neil Young,
Hashim,
Bush Tetras,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Sixth Finger,
Popol Vuh,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Jacob Miller,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Dorothy Ashby,
The United States of America,
Fluxion,
Lightning Bolt,
The Pop Group,
Erykah Badu,
The Divine Comedy,
The Zeros,
Monolake,
Little Man,
Young Marble Giants,
Jeff Mills,
Wire,
Black Flag, Black Flag, Black Flag, Black Flag.
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.