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 Tanzania and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 sitar 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 Piero Umiliani to the techno 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 10cc. All the underground hits.
All Slick Rick tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Traffic Nightmare record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Public Enemy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet 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 Kinks,
The Names,
Pierre Henry,
Faust,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Wings,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Don Cherry,
This Heat,
Rakim,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Black Moon,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
B.T. Express,
Loose Ends,
Shuggie Otis,
Rod Modell,
the Bar-Kays,
Alphaville,
The Monks,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Jeru the Damaja,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Idris Muhammad,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Bob Dylan,
Section 25,
Porter Ricks,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Aswad,
The Gladiators,
The Divine Comedy,
Wire,
Black Bananas,
a-ha,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Moebius,
Theoretical Girls,
Lou Reed,
Curtis Mayfield,
Kerri Chandler,
JFA,
The Raincoats,
The Techniques,
K-Klass,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Blake Baxter,
Gabor Szabo,
Bang On A Can,
Simply Red,
Brass Construction,
Clear Light,
In Retrospect,
The Residents,
Basic Channel,
Mad Mike,
Livin' Joy,
Eric B and Rakim, Eric B and Rakim, Eric B and Rakim, Eric B and Rakim.
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.