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 Swaziland and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Big Star show in Memphis.
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 1963 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Salvador.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the snare 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 Mark Hollis to the disco 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 Victims. All the underground hits.
All David Axelrod tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Royal Family And The Poor record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Busters record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Motions,
Minor Threat,
Ohio Players,
the Sonics,
Fad Gadget,
The Angels of Light,
Aural Exciters,
The Mojo Men,
10cc,
Brick,
H. Thieme,
Khruangbin,
Black Bananas,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Wally Richardson,
Pantytec,
Lucky Dragons,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Terrestrial Tones,
Mantronix,
New York Dolls,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Soft Machine,
Joyce Sims,
The United States of America,
Fela Kuti,
Shuggie Otis,
Idris Muhammad,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
ABBA,
Camberwell Now,
Derrick May,
Rotary Connection,
The Durutti Column,
Colin Newman,
JFA,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Lindisfarne,
Curtis Mayfield,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Subhumans,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Ornette Coleman,
Liliput,
Jerry's Kids,
Kurtis Blow,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Dark Day,
Cheater Slicks,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
Television,
Aloha Tigers,
Wasted Youth,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
The Dirtbombs,
Jimmy McGriff,
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear.
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.