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 Liberia and from Spokane.
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 1963 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Barbara Tucker to the grime 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 Rhythm & Sound. All the underground hits.
All Lou Christie tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Little Man record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s 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 Kaleidoscope record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Joe Smooth,
Das Ding,
Sandy B,
The Divine Comedy,
The Vogues,
Jacob Miller,
Swell Maps,
the Normal,
Jeru the Damaja,
Amazonics,
Radiopuhelimet,
UT,
The Martian,
The Fire Engines,
Roxette,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The American Breed,
Neil Young,
Von Mondo,
The Sound,
Mark Hollis,
Lebanon Hanover,
Avey Tare,
John Coltrane,
Deepchord,
Average White Band,
Inner City,
Chris Corsano,
Gabor Szabo,
Scratch Acid,
James White and The Blacks,
Man Parrish,
Joey Negro,
Simply Red,
Q and Not U,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Desert Stars,
MDC,
Mission of Burma,
Bootsy Collins,
The Sonics,
Zero Boys,
Judy Mowatt,
Young Marble Giants,
Sam Rivers,
Wings,
Procol Harum,
Tim Buckley,
Marshall Jefferson,
Jandek,
The Selecter,
The Five Americans,
Lower 48,
Graham Central Station,
Bizarre Inc.,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Glambeats Corp.,
Nico,
Delta 5,
Byron Stingily,
Cal Tjader, Cal Tjader, Cal Tjader, Cal Tjader.
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.