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 Paraguay and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Human League show in Sheffield.
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 1962 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 clarinet 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 Neil Young & Crazy Horse to the electroclash kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Lonnie Liston Smith. All the underground hits.
All Sound Behaviour tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Simply Red record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 güiro and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sixth Finger record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
The Electric Prunes,
PIL,
Suburban Knight,
Stetsasonic,
Lower 48,
Nirvana,
The Doors,
The Blues Magoos,
Peter & Gordon,
The Evens,
Aural Exciters,
Con Funk Shun,
Ponytail,
Man Parrish,
Harpers Bizarre,
Lee Hazlewood,
Joensuu 1685,
Echospace,
The Dead C,
Bob Dylan,
Make Up,
Youth Brigade,
Easy Going,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Last Poets,
10cc,
Rotary Connection,
Reagan Youth,
Sly & The Family Stone,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Niagra,
Barclay James Harvest,
Skriet,
the Bar-Kays,
The Barracudas,
Wally Richardson,
Hot Snakes,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Kurtis Blow,
Gastr Del Sol,
The Fugs,
John Coltrane,
48th St. Collective,
The Moody Blues,
ABBA,
Boogie Down Productions,
Babytalk,
Franke,
Excepter,
Spoonie Gee,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
David Axelrod,
Chris & Cosey,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Sonic Youth,
Unrelated Segments,
Rhythm & Sound,
Jandek, Jandek, Jandek, Jandek.
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.