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 Jamaica and from Edmonton.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Dennis Brown to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Cheater Slicks. All the underground hits.
All Prince Buster tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Y Pants record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Parry Music record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Reuben Wilson,
The Gories,
One Last Wish,
Darondo,
The Cramps,
Colin Newman,
Scratch Acid,
Camouflage,
In Retrospect,
R.M.O.,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
The Human League,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Fugazi,
Peter and Kerry,
Rakim,
Minnie Riperton,
Shuggie Otis,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
LL Cool J,
Terrestrial Tones,
Derrick Morgan,
Minny Pops,
Scrapy,
the Normal,
Grandmaster Flash,
Cal Tjader,
Rosa Yemen,
Metal Thangz,
Public Image Ltd.,
Aaron Thompson,
Ice-T,
Black Bananas,
David Bowie,
Livin' Joy,
Chris Corsano,
Scan 7,
Bizarre Inc.,
Robert Görl,
Bobby Womack,
The Birthday Party,
Joe Finger,
Ituana,
Pussy Galore,
Grey Daturas,
Pierre Henry,
The J.B.'s,
Arthur Verocai,
Vainqueur,
Black Sheep,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Harpers Bizarre,
Adolescents,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
the Human League,
The United States of America,
Terry Callier,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
the Swans,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Rites of Spring,
Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow.
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.