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 Mongolia and from New York.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 theremin 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 48th St. Collective to the disco 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 Alphaville. All the underground hits.
All Scratch Acid tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jacques Brel 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Fugs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Hashim,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
A Certain Ratio,
Little Man,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Mummies,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Fortunes,
Q65,
CMW,
Andrew Hill,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Faraquet,
Fat Boys,
The Doobie Brothers,
Anakelly,
Lightning Bolt,
Connie Case,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
David Bowie,
The Skatalites,
Severed Heads,
Nils Olav,
The Monks,
The Associates,
Circle Jerks,
Girls At Our Best!,
Gastr Del Sol,
Rotary Connection,
Shuggie Otis,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Animal Collective,
Fad Gadget,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Niagra,
Bobby Sherman,
Traffic Nightmare,
Organ,
The Dave Clark Five,
Scion,
Absolute Body Control,
Warren Ellis,
Deadbeat,
Popol Vuh,
Subhumans,
the Sonics,
Byron Stingily,
Pere Ubu,
Radiohead,
Mark Hollis,
Aaron Thompson,
Boredoms,
KRS-One,
Gerry Rafferty,
Throbbing Gristle,
U.S. Maple,
Goldenarms,
Rekid,
Ultravox,
Amon Düül II,
Alice Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Alice Coltrane.
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.