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 Mali and from Accra.
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 1965 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Johannesburg.
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 1980 at the first Cybotron practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the organ 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 Camberwell Now to the funk 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 The Fire Engines. All the underground hits.
All Red Lorry Yellow Lorry tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Rahsaan Roland Kirk record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rosa Yemen record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Archie Shepp,
Minny Pops,
Soft Cell,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Sandy B,
Parry Music,
Basic Channel,
Jeru the Damaja,
Laurel Aitken,
Nik Kershaw,
Banda Bassotti,
Dave Gahan,
Kenny Larkin,
Eddi Front,
Moebius,
Yazoo,
Stetsasonic,
Eve St. Jones,
Sun Ra,
The Martian,
Pere Ubu,
Tears for Fears,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Essential Logic,
Das Ding,
Eric Copeland,
The Invisible,
Brothers Johnson,
John Foxx,
Easy Going,
Faust,
Symarip,
Popol Vuh,
This Heat,
Grauzone,
Johnny Osbourne,
Rod Modell,
Eli Mardock,
Skarface,
Vladislav Delay,
Nas,
The Toasters,
Anakelly,
Gregory Isaacs,
Fatback Band,
Fat Boys,
Bizarre Inc.,
Scrapy,
The Birthday Party,
Spandau Ballet,
F. McDonald,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Brass Construction,
Sister Nancy,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Bush Tetras,
Morten Harket,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
T. Rex,
Youth Brigade, Youth Brigade, Youth Brigade, Youth Brigade.
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.