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 Ecuador and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Barry Ungar to the dance kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All Lightning Bolt tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Terry Callier record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 snare and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Brick record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sex Pistols,
Dark Day,
Index,
Lower 48,
Essential Logic,
Babytalk,
Rod Modell,
Soft Machine,
Scion,
The United States of America,
Organ,
Amon Düül II,
Malaria!,
Al Stewart,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Rhythm & Sound,
Judy Mowatt,
the Normal,
Echospace,
Symarip,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Wally Richardson,
Sun City Girls,
Bang On A Can,
Rufus Thomas,
Alphaville,
Bootsy Collins,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Ten City,
Isaac Hayes,
Monolake,
Letta Mbulu,
The Zeros,
Motorama,
The Raincoats,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Arthur Verocai,
Skarface,
Radio Birdman,
Roger Hodgson,
The Remains,
Lalo Schifrin,
Main Source,
Radiopuhelimet,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Flipper,
Intrusion,
Cecil Taylor,
The Mojo Men,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
One Last Wish,
Eddi Front,
Sixth Finger,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Arab on Radar,
Tubeway Army,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Shuggie Otis,
Prince Buster,
Negative Approach, Negative Approach, Negative Approach, Negative Approach.
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.