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 Spain and from Mumbai.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Robert Wyatt to the grime kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Neu!. All the underground hits.
All Donald Byrd tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Max Romeo record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 an arpeggiator and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Warsaw record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lucky Dragons,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Todd Terry,
Supertramp,
Panda Bear,
Ice-T,
Harmonia,
Babytalk,
Andrew Hill,
Von Mondo,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Vladislav Delay,
Magazine,
Swans,
The Last Poets,
Masters at Work,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
ABC,
Cymande,
Scan 7,
Rites of Spring,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
The Motions,
Ponytail,
Fugazi,
Lou Christie,
Shoche,
Joy Division,
The Grass Roots,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Flipper,
Barbara Tucker,
David Axelrod,
The Index,
Kurtis Blow,
Radio Birdman,
MDC,
Gichy Dan,
Minnie Riperton,
Grey Daturas,
Deakin,
Aaron Thompson,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
June of 44,
Erasure,
Quantec,
Gabor Szabo,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Grauzone,
The Pop Group,
Crispian St. Peters,
Black Flag,
Icehouse,
Kevin Saunderson,
Visage,
Audionom,
The Alarm Clocks,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Fatback Band,
Warren Ellis,
Kenny Larkin, Kenny Larkin, Kenny Larkin, Kenny Larkin.
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.