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 Laos and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in 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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 E-Dancer to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Modern Lovers. All the underground hits.
All Banda Bassotti tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Dead C 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bronski Beat record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Harpers Bizarre,
JFA,
Gerry Rafferty,
Carl Craig,
Talk Talk,
Khruangbin,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Fortunes,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Skatalites,
Sugar Minott,
Tears for Fears,
The Wake,
Judy Mowatt,
Black Pus,
Severed Heads,
The Barracudas,
T. Rex,
The United States of America,
Ralphi Rosario,
Pharoah Sanders,
Pylon,
Be Bop Deluxe,
10cc,
Niagra,
Nils Olav,
Dual Sessions,
Smog,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Jawbox,
Soul II Soul,
the Fania All-Stars,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Cal Tjader,
New Order,
Jesper Dahlback,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Ohio Players,
Electric Prunes,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Nick Fraelich,
Pantaleimon,
Black Sheep,
EPMD,
Rod Modell,
Nik Kershaw,
Shuggie Otis,
The Moody Blues,
Sex Pistols,
Idris Muhammad,
Yazoo,
KRS-One,
Amon Düül,
a-ha,
The Names,
Mark Hollis,
Tubeway Army,
La Düsseldorf,
Max Romeo,
Sun Ra,
Donald Byrd,
Brand Nubian, Brand Nubian, Brand Nubian, Brand Nubian.
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.