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 Mauritius and from Salvador.
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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Aaron Thompson to the dance kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Golliwogs. All the underground hits.
All The Velvet Underground tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Vainqueur 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rapeman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
A Certain Ratio,
the Germs,
The Walker Brothers,
cv313,
Ponytail,
Jacques Brel,
Jerry's Kids,
Visage,
Delta 5,
the Association,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Das Ding,
Anakelly,
Lightning Bolt,
The Grass Roots,
Flamin' Groovies,
Pylon,
Marc Almond,
Colin Newman,
Soul II Soul,
Robert Wyatt,
Slick Rick,
Liliput,
Moby Grape,
Ornette Coleman,
Saccharine Trust,
Lyres,
Brand Nubian,
John Lydon,
The Motions,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Skaos,
Public Image Ltd.,
Bad Manners,
Gichy Dan,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Sound,
Bill Wells,
The Sonics,
The Birthday Party,
Bootsy Collins,
F. McDonald,
World's Most,
Traffic Nightmare,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Dead Boys,
Kevin Saunderson,
Wolf Eyes,
Hardrive,
Echospace,
Donald Byrd,
Yellowson,
The Fuzztones,
Urselle,
The Blackbyrds,
Iggy Pop,
PIL,
New Age Steppers,
Soul Sonic Force, Soul Sonic Force, Soul Sonic Force, Soul Sonic Force.
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.