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 Ireland and from Lagos.
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 1968 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Halifax.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark to the rock 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 The Mighty Diamonds. All the underground hits.
All Bluetip tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every ABBA 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a chamberlin 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 linndrum and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gil Scott Heron,
Groovy Waters,
June Days,
KRS-One,
Rosa Yemen,
Derrick May,
The Last Poets,
Lou Reed,
10cc,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Lucky Dragons,
Frankie Knuckles,
Sonny Sharrock,
Symarip,
Zero Boys,
The J.B.'s,
The Doobie Brothers,
Marvin Gaye,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
MDC,
Sun Ra,
Glambeats Corp.,
Neil Young,
Mandrill,
Sly & The Family Stone,
the Swans,
Janne Schatter,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Junior Murvin,
Anthony Braxton,
Fela Kuti,
Lebanon Hanover,
Kas Product,
Wally Richardson,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
A Certain Ratio,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Sex Pistols,
Massinfluence,
Underground Resistance,
Piero Umiliani,
Pussy Galore,
Chris Corsano,
The Dave Clark Five,
Scrapy,
Lungfish,
Harpers Bizarre,
Peter and Kerry,
Ponytail,
Vainqueur,
Harry Pussy,
John Lydon,
Black Flag,
Mo-Dettes,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Barry Ungar,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Grey Daturas,
Brothers Johnson,
Darondo, Darondo, Darondo, Darondo.
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.