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 France and from Toronto.
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 1964 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Woodstock 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the 808 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 Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish to the rap kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Mummies. All the underground hits.
All Wally Richardson tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kaleidoscope 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sonny Sharrock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Fortunes,
Lightning Bolt,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The Toasters,
Peter & Gordon,
the Slits,
Ohio Players,
The Fire Engines,
Black Pus,
Eyeless In Gaza,
T. Rex,
Camberwell Now,
B.T. Express,
Procol Harum,
Junior Murvin,
Jerry's Kids,
Alton Ellis,
Slave,
Neil Young,
Jeff Lynne,
Roxette,
Tropical Tobacco,
Spoonie Gee,
the Human League,
Drexciya,
DJ Sneak,
Angry Samoans,
Ultimate Spinach,
Masters at Work,
Motorama,
Sam Rivers,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Parry Music,
The Techniques,
Al Stewart,
Erykah Badu,
Pet Shop Boys,
Crooked Eye,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Five Americans,
Soul Sonic Force,
Derrick May,
Marc Almond,
Ponytail,
Shuggie Otis,
Prince Buster,
Hardrive,
Nation of Ulysses,
F. McDonald,
Robert Wyatt,
Can,
John Coltrane,
Rod Modell,
KRS-One,
Sparks,
The Blackbyrds,
Drive Like Jehu,
Blancmange,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Quando Quango,
The Monochrome Set,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield.
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.