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 Belarus and from Seoul.
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 1966 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Danielle Patucci to the funk 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 Gang of Four. All the underground hits.
All Electric Prunes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Busters 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Au Pairs,
the Sonics,
The Last Poets,
Judy Mowatt,
The Five Americans,
Peter & Gordon,
Charles Mingus,
Skarface,
Kenny Larkin,
Mad Mike,
Eve St. Jones,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Brass Construction,
the Slits,
Todd Terry,
The Monochrome Set,
Suburban Knight,
Main Source,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The American Breed,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Sixth Finger,
Can,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Rod Modell,
Echospace,
Ohio Players,
Japan,
Drive Like Jehu,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Detroit Cobras,
Sandy B,
F. McDonald,
Eurythmics,
Lungfish,
The Monks,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
the Human League,
Matthew Bourne,
The Sonics,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Tim Buckley,
Funky Four + One,
Symarip,
Grandmaster Flash,
The Selecter,
Chrome,
Clear Light,
Ice-T,
Dual Sessions,
Flash Fearless,
Nils Olav,
Lee Hazlewood,
The Cure,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Derrick May,
Jeff Mills,
Marcia Griffiths,
Essential Logic,
Idris Muhammad,
Q65, Q65, Q65, Q65.
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.