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 Macedonia and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1968 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Tomorrow to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Motorama. All the underground hits.
All Prince Buster tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Siglo XX 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sonny Sharrock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Scion,
Essential Logic,
Grandmaster Flash,
Aaron Thompson,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Standells,
The Modern Lovers,
Grey Daturas,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
the Normal,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Jeru the Damaja,
Man Eating Sloth,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Five Americans,
Al Stewart,
Technova,
Bang On A Can,
Magazine,
Eric B and Rakim,
Negative Approach,
Idris Muhammad,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
The Monochrome Set,
Ponytail,
Trumans Water,
Donald Byrd,
Cecil Taylor,
Rites of Spring,
Patti Smith,
Mad Mike,
Cheater Slicks,
Gang Green,
The Names,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Freddie Wadling,
Y Pants,
Outsiders,
Bronski Beat,
The Sound,
Moebius,
Peter & Gordon,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Camberwell Now,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
ABBA,
Radio Birdman,
Fela Kuti,
Sun Ra,
The Dave Clark Five,
Leonard Cohen,
Kas Product,
Godley & Creme,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The Neon Judgement,
the Association,
The Motions,
Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood.
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.