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 Mali 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 1961 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Glasgow.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 1976 at the first Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the organ 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 Sarah Menescal to the punk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Japan. All the underground hits.
All The Slackers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Man Eating Sloth 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Electric Prunes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Niagra,
Peter & Gordon,
Main Source,
Schoolly D,
Slave,
Tropical Tobacco,
Livin' Joy,
L. Decosne,
Rekid,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Hardrive,
The Young Rascals,
Graham Central Station,
Lightning Bolt,
Harpers Bizarre,
Prince Buster,
Michelle Simonal,
The Grass Roots,
Accadde A,
the Normal,
Gang of Four,
Dead Boys,
Television,
Soul II Soul,
Letta Mbulu,
Ten City,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Jimmy McGriff,
The Move,
Scrapy,
Lakeside,
Dennis Brown,
Eli Mardock,
Glambeats Corp.,
Erykah Badu,
The Toasters,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
48th St. Collective,
Cymande,
Sam Rivers,
Andrew Hill,
Matthew Halsall,
Warren Ellis,
Fat Boys,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Nils Olav,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Pagans,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
T. Rex,
Cecil Taylor,
10cc,
Dorothy Ashby,
Urselle,
Lucky Dragons,
Matthew Bourne,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
The Barracudas,
Siglo XX,
The Cosmic Jokers,
The Star Department,
Tears for Fears, Tears for Fears, Tears for Fears, Tears for Fears.
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.