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 Nigeria and from Sao Paulo.
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 1965 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 1983 at the first Lewis practice in a loft in Vancouver.
I was working on the rhodes sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Wolf Eyes to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell. All the underground hits.
All The Modern Lovers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Minnie Riperton record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Alton Ellis,
The Names,
Electric Prunes,
Warren Ellis,
Lalann,
The Cosmic Jokers,
The Invisible,
Alice Coltrane,
Excepter,
Joy Division,
Beasts of Bourbon,
X-101,
Goldenarms,
Y Pants,
OOIOO,
Reagan Youth,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The United States of America,
Joey Negro,
The Alarm Clocks,
Bootsy Collins,
Iggy Pop,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Pharoah Sanders,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
The Residents,
Thee Headcoats,
Dennis Brown,
Franke,
The Searchers,
Yusef Lateef,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Scion,
Deepchord,
Tropical Tobacco,
Tomorrow,
Joe Finger,
John Cale,
Delon & Dalcan,
Animal Collective,
Monolake,
Soulsonic Force,
Fear,
Deakin,
The Zeros,
The Vogues,
Mr. Review,
Young Marble Giants,
Amazonics,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Monks,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Sugar Minott,
Jeru the Damaja,
Fatback Band,
The Toasters,
David McCallum,
X-Ray Spex,
Cluster,
China Crisis,
Crispian St. Peters, Crispian St. Peters, Crispian St. Peters, Crispian St. Peters.
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.