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 Tunisia and from Edmonton.
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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 oboe 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 Brothers Johnson to the dance kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Animal Collective. All the underground hits.
All Brass Construction tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Black Pus 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a cv313 record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Buckinghams,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The Shadows of Knight,
Kayak,
Lucky Dragons,
Amazonics,
Bobby Byrd,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Television Personalities,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Eric Dolphy,
Porter Ricks,
The Pretty Things,
Swans,
Public Image Ltd.,
Donald Byrd,
Charles Mingus,
Youth Brigade,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
CMW,
Groovy Waters,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Faust,
a-ha,
Negative Approach,
Bob Dylan,
Bad Manners,
Brothers Johnson,
Camberwell Now,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Quadrant,
Terrestrial Tones,
Shoche,
Tim Buckley,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Gil Scott Heron,
Sound Behaviour,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Dawn Penn,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
The Red Krayola,
Livin' Joy,
Spoonie Gee,
OOIOO,
The Last Poets,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Fear,
The Tremeloes,
Jacques Brel,
Pierre Henry,
Gang of Four,
Laurel Aitken,
Ponytail,
Darondo,
Roger Hodgson,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Suburban Knight,
Essential Logic,
Sonny Sharrock,
Pharoah Sanders,
Unrelated Segments,
Barrington Levy, Barrington Levy, Barrington Levy, Barrington Levy.
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.