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 Guyana and from Jakarta.
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 1969 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 Buzzcocks practice in a loft in Bolton.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Terry Callier to the techno kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Black Moon. All the underground hits.
All Pantaleimon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Flipper 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Con Funk Shun record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Eli Mardock,
Maleditus Sound,
Arcadia,
Lakeside,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
New York Dolls,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Joy Division,
Barrington Levy,
Fad Gadget,
Big Daddy Kane,
Negative Approach,
The Neon Judgement,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Yellowson,
Dark Day,
Black Flag,
Cameo,
Isaac Hayes,
Warsaw,
Reagan Youth,
The Raincoats,
The Red Krayola,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Faraquet,
Fear,
the Bar-Kays,
Fugazi,
Jawbox,
The Gories,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
ABC,
Hardrive,
Rakim,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Matthew Halsall,
Saccharine Trust,
Bizarre Inc.,
Rotary Connection,
Crispy Ambulance,
Ponytail,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Faust,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Darondo,
Jesper Dahlback,
Delta 5,
Accadde A,
John Holt,
Minutemen,
Kayak,
Kenny Larkin,
Joe Smooth,
Minny Pops,
David Axelrod,
Neil Young,
The Star Department,
Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller.
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.