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 Mauritius and from Mexico City.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 Johannesburg and Jakarta.
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 linndrum 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 Sound Behaviour to the punk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Larry & the Blue Notes. All the underground hits.
All Yusef Lateef tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Country Joe & The Fish record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jeff Mills record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gerry Rafferty,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Mission of Burma,
Eric B and Rakim,
Ituana,
The J.B.'s,
Cluster,
The Gap Band,
Duran Duran,
ABBA,
Harpers Bizarre,
Delon & Dalcan,
Avey Tare,
Kool Moe Dee,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Livin' Joy,
Grauzone,
UT,
Saccharine Trust,
KRS-One,
Can,
Ultimate Spinach,
The Monochrome Set,
Massinfluence,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Fugs,
Symarip,
Joe Smooth,
Banda Bassotti,
Los Fastidios,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Faraquet,
Sound Behaviour,
Amazonics,
Black Moon,
Carl Craig,
Cybotron,
Ponytail,
Franke,
The Cosmic Jokers,
a-ha,
The Angels of Light,
Drive Like Jehu,
The Victims,
Black Flag,
Q and Not U,
Cal Tjader,
Pole,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Happenings,
The Music Machine,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
the Normal,
Jacques Brel,
Urselle,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Tears for Fears,
Janne Schatter,
Niagra,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Bronski Beat,
D'Angelo,
The Monks, The Monks, The Monks, The Monks.
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.