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 Cambodia and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Woodstock and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 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 Gang Green to the punk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Lakeside. All the underground hits.
All The Busters tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Walker Brothers 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Manfred Mann's Earth Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
JFA,
Average White Band,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Main Source,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
The Red Krayola,
Gang of Four,
Michelle Simonal,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Warsaw,
The Toasters,
Dark Day,
Massinfluence,
Kevin Saunderson,
Pagans,
Urselle,
Cluster,
the Bar-Kays,
The Beau Brummels,
Marvin Gaye,
Fela Kuti,
Tim Buckley,
Audionom,
Swans,
La Düsseldorf,
Peter and Kerry,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
the Slits,
Chris Corsano,
John Holt,
Tropical Tobacco,
Ultravox,
Boogie Down Productions,
Maleditus Sound,
The Smoke,
Man Eating Sloth,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Funkadelic,
Heaven 17,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Graham Central Station,
Neu!,
The Golliwogs,
Public Enemy,
This Heat,
Symarip,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Tears for Fears,
Ituana,
The Angels of Light,
Kool Moe Dee,
Colin Newman,
Basic Channel,
E-Dancer,
Black Sheep,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Nick Fraelich,
James Chance & The Contortions,
June of 44,
Derrick May,
Scrapy,
Section 25, Section 25, Section 25, Section 25.
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.