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 Somalia and from Houston.
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 1961 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
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 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to the crunk 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 The United States of America. All the underground hits.
All Minny Pops tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jesper Dahlback record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a U.S. Maple record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Masters at Work,
kango's stein massive,
Whodini,
Agent Orange,
Niagra,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Interpol,
Kerri Chandler,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
The Leaves,
Rod Modell,
Ponytail,
Cymande,
T. Rex,
Robert Wyatt,
Thee Headcoats,
The Red Krayola,
Flash Fearless,
Bronski Beat,
Black Pus,
New Age Steppers,
These Immortal Souls,
In Retrospect,
Siglo XX,
Kurtis Blow,
The Blackbyrds,
Lower 48,
Radiopuhelimet,
Marine Girls,
Archie Shepp,
Drexciya,
The Flesh Eaters,
Angry Samoans,
Fugazi,
Section 25,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Bauhaus,
The Blues Magoos,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
One Last Wish,
Zapp,
Lalann,
Laurel Aitken,
Gang Green,
Rotary Connection,
Bootsy Collins,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Electric Prunes,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
The Sonics,
Jeff Mills,
Tropical Tobacco,
Gang of Four,
The Zeros,
Main Source,
John Cale,
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.