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 Barbados and from Lyon.
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 1968 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Gerry Rafferty to the rock 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 Ultramagnetic MC's. All the underground hits.
All Danielle Patucci tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Dark Day record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Delon & Dalcan 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?
James Chance & The Contortions,
Flamin' Groovies,
Desert Stars,
A Certain Ratio,
Urselle,
The Grass Roots,
Eric B and Rakim,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
The Remains,
the Slits,
The Blues Magoos,
Wire,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Ice-T,
Mark Hollis,
The Red Krayola,
Glambeats Corp.,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Joy Division,
Jandek,
Spoonie Gee,
Rod Modell,
Intrusion,
Sound Behaviour,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Grandmaster Flash,
Jeff Mills,
cv313,
Massinfluence,
ABBA,
Wally Richardson,
Arab on Radar,
Al Stewart,
Tropical Tobacco,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Surgeon,
June of 44,
Pagans,
Lower 48,
Unrelated Segments,
Minutemen,
Terry Callier,
Matthew Bourne,
Amazonics,
The Litter,
X-102,
Second Layer,
Rotary Connection,
PIL,
Derrick May,
The Slackers,
Black Flag,
Faust,
June Days,
Jawbox,
The Neon Judgement,
Wasted Youth,
Mars,
Dorothy Ashby,
Ronnie Foster, Ronnie Foster, Ronnie Foster, Ronnie Foster.
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.