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 Eritrea and from Lille.
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 1965 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Shanghai.
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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Pagans to the grunge kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Anthony Braxton. All the underground hits.
All John Cale tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every the Slits 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Peter and Kerry record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Grandmaster Flash,
Scan 7,
Camouflage,
Chris & Cosey,
Sugar Minott,
Black Flag,
The Martian,
Boz Scaggs,
The Durutti Column,
Big Daddy Kane,
the Bar-Kays,
In Retrospect,
Eden Ahbez,
Khruangbin,
Brass Construction,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Pantytec,
Prince Buster,
FM Einheit,
Gang Green,
Dark Day,
Swans,
The Leaves,
The Tremeloes,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Sonic Youth,
Whodini,
Interpol,
Drive Like Jehu,
Scott Walker,
Eric Dolphy,
Bauhaus,
Minnie Riperton,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Rosa Yemen,
Lucky Dragons,
Derrick Morgan,
Iggy Pop,
The Residents,
Soft Machine,
Leonard Cohen,
Freddie Wadling,
Country Teasers,
Stetsasonic,
Pet Shop Boys,
Grey Daturas,
Zero Boys,
Crime,
Sarah Menescal,
D'Angelo,
Roxy Music,
Darondo,
Japan,
The Golliwogs,
Donny Hathaway,
The Gladiators,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Erykah Badu,
Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily.
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.