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 Qatar 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 1963 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Stockholm.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the guitar 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 Susan Cadogan to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Sandy B. All the underground hits.
All Judy Mowatt tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ten City 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Human League record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Birthday Party,
Half Japanese,
Dennis Brown,
The Buckinghams,
Ohio Players,
The Cowsills,
ABC,
Swell Maps,
Donny Hathaway,
Absolute Body Control,
Das Ding,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Matthew Bourne,
Man Parrish,
The Smiths,
Lalann,
Pylon,
Harpers Bizarre,
Juan Atkins,
Hot Snakes,
The Detroit Cobras,
Ludus,
Stetsasonic,
Eddi Front,
the Slits,
Skaos,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Fatback Band,
Sun Ra,
Brand Nubian,
Panda Bear,
U.S. Maple,
Minutemen,
A Certain Ratio,
New Age Steppers,
Cluster,
Archie Shepp,
Byron Stingily,
Malaria!,
Ronan,
Barclay James Harvest,
The Last Poets,
Subhumans,
Brothers Johnson,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
The Cure,
Grauzone,
Rotary Connection,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
The Kinks,
Clear Light,
Lou Reed,
Adolescents,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
June Days,
Boogie Down Productions,
John Coltrane,
The Names, The Names, The Names, The Names.
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.