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 Colombia and from Seoul.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1963 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Houston 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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 London Community Gospel Choir to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Von Mondo. All the underground hits.
All Deepchord tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Motorama record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Prince Buster record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Raincoats,
Marshall Jefferson,
Bobby Sherman,
Ronnie Foster,
Bobby Hutcherson,
the Soft Cell,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Pole,
Television Personalities,
Rosa Yemen,
Rotary Connection,
The American Breed,
The Star Department,
Yusef Lateef,
Amon Düül II,
In Retrospect,
The Fire Engines,
Sight & Sound,
Ludus,
Jacques Brel,
The Leaves,
KRS-One,
Can,
Peter and Kerry,
Main Source,
Mr. Review,
The Trojans,
Jerry's Kids,
Tears for Fears,
Boz Scaggs,
Pagans,
The Black Dice,
Pylon,
John Lydon,
Marc Almond,
The Grass Roots,
Arab on Radar,
Lalann,
Max Romeo,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Echospace,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The Doobie Brothers,
a-ha,
Motorama,
Gang Gang Dance,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Steve Hackett,
China Crisis,
Nirvana,
Nas,
Brand Nubian,
Smog,
Second Layer,
Reagan Youth,
These Immortal Souls,
Sun City Girls,
Spoonie Gee,
The Moody Blues,
Groovy Waters,
Bush Tetras, Bush Tetras, Bush Tetras, Bush Tetras.
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.