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 Brunei and from Lagos.
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 1961 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Janne Schatter to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Sad Lovers and Giants. All the underground hits.
All Echospace tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Motions record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance 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 synthesizer and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Unwound,
The Music Machine,
Kevin Saunderson,
The Five Americans,
Skriet,
Grauzone,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Audionom,
Rod Modell,
Piero Umiliani,
Hashim,
Andrew Hill,
The Leaves,
Spandau Ballet,
Lalann,
Jeru the Damaja,
Spoonie Gee,
Zero Boys,
Liliput,
Index,
Scratch Acid,
Peter & Gordon,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Ronnie Foster,
Ken Boothe,
Jeff Lynne,
Deepchord,
The Mummies,
Rufus Thomas,
The Blackbyrds,
The J.B.'s,
Mo-Dettes,
One Last Wish,
Blancmange,
Jandek,
Buzzcocks,
Organ,
Warsaw,
Ice-T,
John Lydon,
U.S. Maple,
Steve Hackett,
Khruangbin,
Crooked Eye,
Slick Rick,
Dead Boys,
Eric Copeland,
Fear,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Magazine,
The Pop Group,
The Slits,
The Black Dice,
Loose Ends,
Pagans,
Hoover,
The Wake,
ABC,
Drexciya,
Aswad,
Crime,
Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood.
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.