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 Congo and from Bremen.
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 1960 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Dorothy Ashby to the funk 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 The Doors. All the underground hits.
All The Evens tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Country Teasers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s 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 Slave record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Human League,
Symarip,
Bootsy Collins,
Black Moon,
Niagra,
The Names,
the Bar-Kays,
Gang Green,
Connie Case,
Nirvana,
Amazonics,
Sun Ra,
Royal Trux,
Flamin' Groovies,
T.S.O.L.,
Stereo Dub,
Guru Guru,
H. Thieme,
The Offenders,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Delta 5,
Piero Umiliani,
JFA,
Fifty Foot Hose,
These Immortal Souls,
Fear,
Robert Hood,
Funky Four + One,
Marmalade,
Sarah Menescal,
Judy Mowatt,
Ludus,
Ituana,
Pet Shop Boys,
Radiopuhelimet,
Anthony Braxton,
Scion,
The Red Krayola,
The Skatalites,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Eden Ahbez,
Erasure,
Ponytail,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Maleditus Sound,
Babytalk,
Jacques Brel,
Agent Orange,
Little Man,
The Moody Blues,
Donald Byrd,
The Cowsills,
Lebanon Hanover,
Howard Jones,
Grandmaster Flash,
This Heat,
Barrington Levy,
Chrome,
Spoonie Gee,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Harry Pussy,
Das Ding,
The Index, The Index, The Index, The Index.
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.