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 Philippines and from Glasgow.
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 1961 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Whodini to the jazz kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Bootsy Collins. All the underground hits.
All Jeru the Damaja tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pagans record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sister Nancy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Godley & Creme,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Jandek,
Funky Four + One,
Hoover,
Main Source,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Aswad,
Lalann,
Isaac Hayes,
Sugar Minott,
Fear,
U.S. Maple,
kango's stein massive,
China Crisis,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Smiths,
the Sonics,
Patti Smith,
Pierre Henry,
La Düsseldorf,
Blake Baxter,
The Names,
Q65,
The Five Americans,
Quantec,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Grandmaster Flash,
Todd Terry,
Tomorrow,
Roxy Music,
Nico,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Raincoats,
Vainqueur,
Lungfish,
Wire,
Stereo Dub,
Alice Coltrane,
Agent Orange,
Unrelated Segments,
Marshall Jefferson,
the Association,
Oblivians,
Todd Rundgren,
Funkadelic,
Bobby Hutcherson,
The Slits,
These Immortal Souls,
Groovy Waters,
Niagra,
Bizarre Inc.,
The Happenings,
Tubeway Army,
the Germs,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Cal Tjader,
Nik Kershaw,
Youth Brigade,
Archie Shepp,
Los Fastidios,
the Soft Cell, the Soft Cell, the Soft Cell, the Soft Cell.
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.