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 Belarus and from Hong Kong.
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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Mad Mike to the rock kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Frankie Knuckles. All the underground hits.
All The Last Poets tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ken Boothe 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Patti Smith record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Slick Rick,
China Crisis,
Easy Going,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Fire Engines,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Selecter,
Sandy B,
X-Ray Spex,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
The Seeds,
A Certain Ratio,
Brand Nubian,
Minny Pops,
Soul II Soul,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Eddi Front,
Rapeman,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Shoche,
Dual Sessions,
Masters at Work,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Y Pants,
Kurtis Blow,
Urselle,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Tremeloes,
Magazine,
The Pop Group,
The Names,
Cameo,
Nas,
Surgeon,
Buzzcocks,
Delta 5,
Gang of Four,
Blossom Toes,
The Shadows of Knight,
Scratch Acid,
The Fugs,
MC5,
Lower 48,
Sister Nancy,
The Martian,
the Fania All-Stars,
Althea and Donna,
Traffic Nightmare,
Tom Boy,
The Zeros,
the Association,
These Immortal Souls,
Black Pus,
Nation of Ulysses,
Das Ding,
Can,
Hardrive,
Vainqueur,
Junior Murvin,
Intrusion, Intrusion, Intrusion, Intrusion.
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.