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 Tajikistan and from Delhi.
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 1969 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Stockholm and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lyon 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam to the crunk 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 8 Eyed Spy. All the underground hits.
All Gichy Dan tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jeru the Damaja 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Agent Orange record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Charles Mingus,
Letta Mbulu,
Isaac Hayes,
Johnny Clarke,
Henry Cow,
Bob Dylan,
Cluster,
MC5,
Make Up,
Lungfish,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Dave Clark Five,
Circle Jerks,
Pussy Galore,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Scrapy,
Malaria!,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Shuggie Otis,
Main Source,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
The Cowsills,
Section 25,
Talk Talk,
Oblivians,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Boredoms,
The Searchers,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Model 500,
Soul II Soul,
Gabor Szabo,
Pantaleimon,
Excepter,
Neu!,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Fort Wilson Riot,
T. Rex,
Soft Cell,
These Immortal Souls,
Visage,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Ice-T,
Arthur Verocai,
New Order,
Young Marble Giants,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Terry Callier,
Barbara Tucker,
Liliput,
The Zeros,
New Age Steppers,
Spoonie Gee,
Ohio Players,
Thee Headcoats,
Anakelly,
Audionom,
The Pop Group,
Bang On A Can,
A Certain Ratio, A Certain Ratio, A Certain Ratio, A Certain Ratio.
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.