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 Angola and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 Milan and Toronto.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Peanut Butter Conspiracy to the electroclash kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Smiths. All the underground hits.
All Lou Reed tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jesper Dahlbäck record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Golliwogs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Negative Approach,
New York Dolls,
Can,
June Days,
Lou Reed,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Zapp,
Frankie Knuckles,
Eric Copeland,
Accadde A,
Bobby Sherman,
Ituana,
Throbbing Gristle,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Animal Collective,
Gang of Four,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Reuben Wilson,
Eric B and Rakim,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
The Fire Engines,
Drexciya,
Bobby Byrd,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Fluxion,
Faraquet,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Echospace,
Letta Mbulu,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Index,
Cal Tjader,
Underground Resistance,
Cameo,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
The Raincoats,
Thompson Twins,
Graham Central Station,
Icehouse,
Thee Headcoats,
Half Japanese,
The Walker Brothers,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Joensuu 1685,
Isaac Hayes,
Model 500,
Brand Nubian,
Jacques Brel,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
D'Angelo,
Skarface,
the Germs,
Sun Ra,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Man Eating Sloth,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
The Saints,
Duran Duran,
The Smiths,
The Blues Magoos,
Mr. Review, Mr. Review, Mr. Review, Mr. Review.
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.