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 Latvia and from Seoul.
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 1960 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Sao Paulo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 rhodes sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Kurtis Blow to the electroclash 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 Rod Modell. All the underground hits.
All Heaven 17 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every These Immortal Souls 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Avey Tare record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Make Up,
the Human League,
The Vogues,
Interpol,
The Techniques,
In Retrospect,
The Angels of Light,
The Gladiators,
Funky Four + One,
Pagans,
Yazoo,
Patti Smith,
Marcia Griffiths,
Unrelated Segments,
Kerri Chandler,
The Dirtbombs,
Rod Modell,
Spoonie Gee,
Gerry Rafferty,
Mantronix,
The Skatalites,
Judy Mowatt,
Grey Daturas,
The Barracudas,
the Sonics,
The Mojo Men,
New Order,
Liliput,
The Raincoats,
The Sisters of Mercy,
The Red Krayola,
Chris & Cosey,
Jimmy McGriff,
kango's stein massive,
Funkadelic,
Monolake,
Hardrive,
The American Breed,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Avey Tare,
This Heat,
Davy DMX,
Symarip,
Skriet,
Wire,
Warsaw,
Quantec,
Joensuu 1685,
Tom Boy,
Wolf Eyes,
The Smiths,
Nation of Ulysses,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
PIL,
Cymande,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Archie Shepp,
JFA,
Fort Wilson Riot,
F. McDonald,
Soul II Soul, Soul II Soul, Soul II Soul, Soul II Soul.
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.