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 Saudi Arabia and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1962 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 arpeggiator 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 Sun Ra to the electroclash 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 Michelle Simonal. All the underground hits.
All Duran Duran tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Flamin' Groovies record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 a sitar and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Electric Prunes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Hashim,
Tropical Tobacco,
The Dirtbombs,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Fluxion,
Peter and Kerry,
Livin' Joy,
Pulsallama,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Funky Four + One,
Radio Birdman,
Scott Walker,
The Pretty Things,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Malaria!,
The Real Kids,
Porter Ricks,
Bronski Beat,
This Heat,
The Sonics,
Aswad,
Eve St. Jones,
Al Stewart,
June of 44,
Aaron Thompson,
New York Dolls,
Young Marble Giants,
Ice-T,
Kas Product,
The Blackbyrds,
Gang Gang Dance,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Stereo Dub,
Marcia Griffiths,
cv313,
Television,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Associates,
The Misunderstood,
Zero Boys,
Black Sheep,
Pylon,
Barrington Levy,
Franke,
Pole,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
A Certain Ratio,
Lyres,
David McCallum,
Sarah Menescal,
Colin Newman,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Camberwell Now,
Lindisfarne,
Hot Snakes,
Cybotron,
John Holt,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Swell Maps,
Spandau Ballet,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Inner City, Inner City, Inner City, Inner City.
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.