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 Lebanon and from Beijing.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Seoul.
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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 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 Lonnie Liston Smith to the jazz kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Dorothy Ashby. All the underground hits.
All Masters at Work tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Barry Ungar record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jandek record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Reagan Youth,
Angry Samoans,
The Techniques,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
The Divine Comedy,
Connie Case,
Joensuu 1685,
Popol Vuh,
KRS-One,
Dead Boys,
The Velvet Underground,
Mandrill,
DNA,
The Shadows of Knight,
Eyeless In Gaza,
F. McDonald,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Iggy Pop,
Scrapy,
Marc Almond,
Pulsallama,
UT,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Lungfish,
Masters at Work,
Avey Tare,
Fugazi,
Infiniti,
Japan,
Bang On A Can,
The Count Five,
Shoche,
Alice Coltrane,
Dawn Penn,
Chris Corsano,
Vainqueur,
The New Christs,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
MC5,
Buzzcocks,
Shuggie Otis,
DJ Style,
Delon & Dalcan,
Dark Day,
The Knickerbockers,
Roy Ayers,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
June Days,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Cymande,
The United States of America,
It's A Beautiful Day,
U.S. Maple,
The Gap Band,
Wasted Youth,
One Last Wish,
Michelle Simonal,
Severed Heads,
Television,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Slick Rick, Slick Rick, Slick Rick, Slick Rick.
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.