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 Delhi.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 The Sisters of Mercy to the techno kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Jawbox. All the underground hits.
All Roy Ayers Ubiquity tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every La Düsseldorf 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a the Germs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Little Man,
The Evens,
The Divine Comedy,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Outsiders,
Brand Nubian,
Hot Snakes,
Black Bananas,
The Young Rascals,
The Fuzztones,
JFA,
Desert Stars,
The Smiths,
Boogie Down Productions,
Marvin Gaye,
the Association,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Liliput,
Nation of Ulysses,
Wolf Eyes,
Rod Modell,
Quadrant,
Grauzone,
Janne Schatter,
Moebius,
Hardrive,
Reuben Wilson,
Sight & Sound,
Gichy Dan,
The Pretty Things,
Scrapy,
Intrusion,
Grandmaster Flash,
Lebanon Hanover,
Ten City,
Cluster,
Fluxion,
Jacob Miller,
Junior Murvin,
World's Most,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Tom Boy,
Chrome,
The Moleskins,
Juan Atkins,
Tres Demented,
Terrestrial Tones,
The Velvet Underground,
Johnny Clarke,
Lucky Dragons,
Kaleidoscope,
Heaven 17,
Trumans Water,
Gregory Isaacs,
Flash Fearless,
Kerri Chandler,
Ponytail,
Gong,
The Residents,
The Happenings,
Gerry Rafferty,
Clear Light, Clear Light, Clear Light, Clear Light.
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.