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 Seychelles and from Bologna.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Spoonie Gee to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Cosmic Jokers. All the underground hits.
All Marshall Jefferson tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mad Mike 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Birthday Party record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Leaves,
Stetsasonic,
Sun Ra,
June of 44,
Skriet,
Nils Olav,
Yusef Lateef,
Average White Band,
Toni Rubio,
Juan Atkins,
Lightning Bolt,
Junior Murvin,
Minutemen,
Ossler,
Pussy Galore,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Beau Brummels,
Connie Case,
Make Up,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Heaven 17,
The Blues Magoos,
The Toasters,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Glambeats Corp.,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Martian,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
X-101,
B.T. Express,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Adolescents,
Inner City,
Hot Snakes,
Pere Ubu,
The Cramps,
The Red Krayola,
Girls At Our Best!,
Japan,
T.S.O.L.,
The Happenings,
Derrick Morgan,
Radio Birdman,
Public Enemy,
These Immortal Souls,
MC5,
U.S. Maple,
Erykah Badu,
Electric Prunes,
Avey Tare,
Roxy Music,
David Axelrod,
The American Breed,
The Fall,
Sonic Youth,
Charles Mingus,
Intrusion,
Lebanon Hanover,
Aural Exciters,
Scientists,
Depeche Mode,
Johnny Osbourne,
Technova, Technova, Technova, Technova.
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.