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 Kiribati and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1966 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Jawbox to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 R.M.O.. All the underground hits.
All the Normal tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every UT 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Swell Maps record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Gun Club,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Aswad,
Black Flag,
The Slackers,
The Golliwogs,
X-101,
X-Ray Spex,
Grauzone,
Zapp,
Connie Case,
Lungfish,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Pole,
The Count Five,
The Stooges,
Bill Wells,
James White and The Blacks,
Dawn Penn,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
T.S.O.L.,
Rhythm & Sound,
Stiv Bators,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Smoke,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Carl Craig,
Minutemen,
D'Angelo,
Grey Daturas,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Doors,
Gang of Four,
The Fire Engines,
Cluster,
Kerri Chandler,
Todd Terry,
The Tremeloes,
JFA,
New Order,
Spoonie Gee,
LL Cool J,
KRS-One,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Amon Düül,
Ohio Players,
Newcleus,
Rakim,
Nirvana,
Ken Boothe,
The Angels of Light,
Interpol,
Con Funk Shun,
The Trojans,
Model 500,
La Düsseldorf,
Half Japanese,
DJ Sneak,
Judy Mowatt,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Music Machine, The Music Machine, The Music Machine, The Music Machine.
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.