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 Iraq and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1973.
I was there at the first Television show in New York.
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 1960 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Calgary 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 organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Skaos to the funk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Saccharine Trust. All the underground hits.
All Man Parrish 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 grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Alice Coltrane record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Smiths,
Agitation Free,
Unwound,
Jawbox,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Shoche,
Pole,
The United States of America,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Pylon,
Japan,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Skatalites,
Sister Nancy,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Vogues,
Dave Gahan,
Intrusion,
Ice-T,
FM Einheit,
Eden Ahbez,
Suburban Knight,
Tomorrow,
Public Image Ltd.,
New York Dolls,
Gregory Isaacs,
Nas,
Man Parrish,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Soul Sonic Force,
Lalann,
Colin Newman,
The Count Five,
Barry Ungar,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Second Layer,
Ultimate Spinach,
Wasted Youth,
Cecil Taylor,
Los Fastidios,
Stetsasonic,
Throbbing Gristle,
The Angels of Light,
Deadbeat,
The Slackers,
The Zeros,
Grauzone,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Fugs,
Connie Case,
Kas Product,
T.S.O.L.,
The Sonics,
Goldenarms,
Delon & Dalcan,
The Monochrome Set,
Skaos,
The Kinks,
Fat Boys,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Boz Scaggs,
Drexciya,
Loose Ends, Loose Ends, Loose Ends, Loose Ends.
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.