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 Solomon Islands 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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Fat Boys. All the underground hits.
All Drexciya tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Blossom Toes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bang On A Can record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ralphi Rosario,
Scratch Acid,
The Human League,
The Victims,
UT,
Carl Craig,
The Techniques,
Malaria!,
Shuggie Otis,
Blancmange,
Con Funk Shun,
Ronan,
Byron Stingily,
Steve Hackett,
John Coltrane,
Fad Gadget,
Buzzcocks,
Mad Mike,
Von Mondo,
Chris Corsano,
Gang of Four,
Infiniti,
The Dave Clark Five,
Royal Trux,
Clear Light,
Yaz,
Skriet,
AZ,
Fela Kuti,
Amon Düül II,
Yellowson,
Dorothy Ashby,
Minny Pops,
Ken Boothe,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Shoche,
The Durutti Column,
Scrapy,
Slave,
Quadrant,
Eurythmics,
Surgeon,
Liliput,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Jerry's Kids,
Bobby Byrd,
The Standells,
Barrington Levy,
Bronski Beat,
Make Up,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Zeros,
Aloha Tigers,
The Barracudas,
Archie Shepp,
F. McDonald,
Gang Gang Dance,
H. Thieme,
Spandau Ballet,
Dark Day, Dark Day, Dark Day, Dark Day.
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.