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 Malawi and from Milan.
But I was there.
I was there in 1962.
I was there at the first Guess Who show in Winnipeg.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tokyo and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 güiro 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 EPMD to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Jacques Brel. All the underground hits.
All Hardrive tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Popol Vuh 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Qualms record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Faraquet,
The Gories,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Ossler,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Slick Rick,
The Red Krayola,
The Cowsills,
the Slits,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Maurizio,
The Dirtbombs,
Con Funk Shun,
The Offenders,
Sixth Finger,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Jacob Miller,
Don Cherry,
Siglo XX,
Kool Moe Dee,
Michelle Simonal,
Fluxion,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
The Slits,
Lucky Dragons,
Gang Green,
Cymande,
The Human League,
Mantronix,
Boz Scaggs,
Half Japanese,
The Remains,
Alton Ellis,
The Cramps,
The Modern Lovers,
EPMD,
The New Christs,
Drive Like Jehu,
The Flesh Eaters,
cv313,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Kayak,
Massinfluence,
Kas Product,
Laurel Aitken,
Stiv Bators,
Juan Atkins,
Soul II Soul,
Derrick Morgan,
Crooked Eye,
The Motions,
Warsaw,
Blancmange,
Bang On A Can,
Scion,
These Immortal Souls,
Absolute Body Control,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
The Gun Club,
Ituana,
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.