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 Dominican Republic and from Milan.
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 1960 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Calgary.
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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Bootsy's Rubber Band to the rap kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Zeros. All the underground hits.
All The Cramps tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Make Up 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ronnie Foster record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ash Ra Tempel,
Scrapy,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Qualms,
Be Bop Deluxe,
the Swans,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Evens,
Panda Bear,
Tears for Fears,
Magazine,
The Blackbyrds,
Ituana,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
The Tremeloes,
Gil Scott Heron,
Subhumans,
Anakelly,
Tomorrow,
Derrick Morgan,
Monks,
The Zeros,
Black Pus,
Brick,
The New Christs,
Rapeman,
Slick Rick,
The Skatalites,
ABBA,
Donald Byrd,
Bill Wells,
Sandy B,
Bluetip,
Brothers Johnson,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Quantec,
John Coltrane,
Moby Grape,
Maleditus Sound,
Das Ding,
Ronnie Foster,
Rotary Connection,
Hasil Adkins,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Stiv Bators,
The Dave Clark Five,
Camouflage,
OOIOO,
T. Rex,
Flash Fearless,
Cheater Slicks,
Shuggie Otis,
June Days,
Ralphi Rosario,
Babytalk,
Alton Ellis,
Fad Gadget,
Warsaw,
Glenn Branca,
Bobby Sherman,
Michelle Simonal, Michelle Simonal, Michelle Simonal, Michelle Simonal.
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.