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 Ivory Coast and from Tehran.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 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 Grandmaster Flash to the dance kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 David Bowie. All the underground hits.
All Popol Vuh tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sugar Minott record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Nik Kershaw record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Techniques,
Banda Bassotti,
Derrick May,
Clear Light,
Frankie Knuckles,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Lyres,
Arab on Radar,
Idris Muhammad,
Kayak,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Porter Ricks,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Lou Christie,
Laurel Aitken,
Yellowson,
Roger Hodgson,
June Days,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Lakeside,
Y Pants,
Terrestrial Tones,
Bill Near,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
FM Einheit,
E-Dancer,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Toasters,
The Slits,
Brand Nubian,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Barry Ungar,
The Fugs,
Unrelated Segments,
The Litter,
Public Image Ltd.,
The Neon Judgement,
Livin' Joy,
The Smiths,
Surgeon,
In Retrospect,
Sexual Harrassment,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Robert Görl,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Patti Smith,
These Immortal Souls,
The Blackbyrds,
Blake Baxter,
Gang of Four,
Quando Quango,
Mo-Dettes,
Severed Heads,
Wolf Eyes,
Cecil Taylor,
Al Stewart,
Yaz,
Q65, Q65, Q65, Q65.
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.