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 New Zealand and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 New York and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 Ultra Naté to the electroclash 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 Wings. All the underground hits.
All Ponytail 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 grime 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 a 808 and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sparks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Clarke,
The Beau Brummels,
Panda Bear,
R.M.O.,
Todd Rundgren,
Todd Terry,
Dennis Brown,
Flipper,
The Neon Judgement,
The Victims,
Unwound,
Frankie Knuckles,
Black Moon,
Los Fastidios,
Tomorrow,
Cameo,
Sonny Sharrock,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Man Eating Sloth,
Jerry's Kids,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Swell Maps,
kango's stein massive,
EPMD,
Little Man,
The Barracudas,
Jimmy McGriff,
Main Source,
DJ Sneak,
The Vogues,
Drexciya,
Pagans,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
U.S. Maple,
Jandek,
Popol Vuh,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Dawn Penn,
The Invisible,
Black Sheep,
Steve Hackett,
Accadde A,
The Remains,
New Order,
Nils Olav,
Delon & Dalcan,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Crime,
Ultra Naté,
Tom Boy,
Grauzone,
Sällskapet,
Patti Smith,
Aloha Tigers,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Grey Daturas,
Suicide,
John Coltrane,
Eden Ahbez, Eden Ahbez, Eden Ahbez, Eden Ahbez.
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.