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 China and from Copenhagen.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Niagra to the funk 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 Subhumans. All the underground hits.
All Donald Byrd tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mo-Dettes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco 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 a spring reverb and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sixth Finger record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Scientists,
The Pop Group,
Marine Girls,
Sandy B,
The Offenders,
The Slits,
Silicon Teens,
Roxette,
The Real Kids,
Simply Red,
Soul II Soul,
Ronnie Foster,
8 Eyed Spy,
Pagans,
Amon Düül,
Theoretical Girls,
Pierre Henry,
Porter Ricks,
X-Ray Spex,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Loose Ends,
the Normal,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Unrelated Segments,
DJ Style,
Pharoah Sanders,
Deadbeat,
June of 44,
The Kinks,
Popol Vuh,
Warren Ellis,
Bauhaus,
the Sonics,
Intrusion,
Guru Guru,
Desert Stars,
Frankie Knuckles,
Groovy Waters,
Faust,
PIL,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Carl Craig,
KRS-One,
Yellowson,
The Detroit Cobras,
Skaos,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Mark Hollis,
Yusef Lateef,
Wally Richardson,
EPMD,
Smog,
Crispian St. Peters,
Jandek,
the Bar-Kays,
Lakeside,
Boz Scaggs,
The Mummies,
Au Pairs,
Darondo,
Icehouse, Icehouse, Icehouse, Icehouse.
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.