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 Serbia and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1961 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Sao Paulo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Vainqueur to the grime 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 Frankie Knuckles. All the underground hits.
All Josef K tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Shuggie Otis record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Freddie Wadling record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Young Marble Giants,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
The Count Five,
Pulsallama,
Royal Trux,
the Bar-Kays,
Black Sheep,
Funkadelic,
These Immortal Souls,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Soulsonic Force,
Cybotron,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Jeff Mills,
Television,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Mad Mike,
Lee Hazlewood,
Rod Modell,
Pantytec,
Dual Sessions,
Grey Daturas,
Kurtis Blow,
the Sonics,
Chrome,
Franke,
Stereo Dub,
The Mojo Men,
the Germs,
Suburban Knight,
The Sonics,
Howard Jones,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Barracudas,
The Grass Roots,
Fugazi,
Subhumans,
Y Pants,
Kerrie Biddell,
Niagra,
The Trojans,
Public Image Ltd.,
Marcia Griffiths,
Bluetip,
Porter Ricks,
Gregory Isaacs,
Soul Sonic Force,
Sun Ra,
Yusef Lateef,
Charles Mingus,
10cc,
New Order,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Index,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Half Japanese,
Icehouse,
Scott Walker,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Young Rascals,
Gang of Four, Gang of Four, Gang of Four, Gang of Four.
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.