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 Turkmenistan and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1965 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Taipei.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 The Sisters of Mercy to the rap kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 The Knickerbockers. All the underground hits.
All cv313 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Tim Buckley record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 snare and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gian Franco Pienzio record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Fifty Foot Hose,
Anakelly,
The Fuzztones,
The Litter,
Goldenarms,
Monolake,
The Count Five,
Derrick May,
Eve St. Jones,
Joe Finger,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
the Fania All-Stars,
Soulsonic Force,
Grey Daturas,
Aloha Tigers,
Joey Negro,
John Coltrane,
Mission of Burma,
Black Moon,
Blancmange,
The Modern Lovers,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Smoke,
Peter & Gordon,
Neil Young,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Bobbi Humphrey,
La Düsseldorf,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
The Moody Blues,
Sarah Menescal,
Hasil Adkins,
Eric Copeland,
JFA,
Terry Callier,
Jandek,
Hashim,
China Crisis,
World's Most,
Underground Resistance,
Flamin' Groovies,
AZ,
U.S. Maple,
The Angels of Light,
The Associates,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Babytalk,
Lyres,
the Sonics,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Robert Hood,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
PIL,
Todd Terry,
The Remains,
Prince Buster,
Young Marble Giants,
Marvin Gaye,
The Doobie Brothers,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
The Gladiators,
Hot Snakes, Hot Snakes, Hot Snakes, Hot Snakes.
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.