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 Romania and from Accra.
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 1961 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Gil Scott Heron to the funk 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 The Fall. All the underground hits.
All Teenage Jesus and the Jerks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mantronix record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Fort Wilson Riot record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Buzzcocks,
The Residents,
The Fall,
The Black Dice,
Eden Ahbez,
Chris Corsano,
Arab on Radar,
Newcleus,
Outsiders,
Radiopuhelimet,
ABC,
Amazonics,
Gong,
Anthony Braxton,
PIL,
The Wake,
The Kinks,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Ornette Coleman,
Rhythm & Sound,
New Age Steppers,
The Gun Club,
FM Einheit,
Todd Rundgren,
Josef K,
Animal Collective,
Mo-Dettes,
Michelle Simonal,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Jacques Brel,
Dave Gahan,
Eric Dolphy,
Tears for Fears,
a-ha,
Das Ding,
Mission of Burma,
Lower 48,
The American Breed,
Fatback Band,
The Birthday Party,
The Skatalites,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Human League,
Tim Buckley,
Erasure,
The Fire Engines,
New York Dolls,
Livin' Joy,
Sexual Harrassment,
June of 44,
Skarface,
Zero Boys,
Model 500,
The Index,
Deakin,
Subhumans,
The Durutti Column,
The Names,
Schoolly D,
Youth Brigade,
Drexciya, Drexciya, Drexciya, Drexciya.
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.