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 Dominica and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 theremin 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 Ralphi Rosario to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Bronski Beat. All the underground hits.
All Quantec tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Freddie Wadling record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 marimba and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Funky Four + One record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jerry's Kids,
Camberwell Now,
The Pop Group,
Tomorrow,
Swans,
Masters at Work,
Brass Construction,
London Community Gospel Choir,
The Gladiators,
Roy Ayers,
Gregory Isaacs,
Gong,
Blancmange,
The Happenings,
Erykah Badu,
Cluster,
The Stooges,
Minutemen,
The Tremeloes,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Gang of Four,
Suicide,
World's Most,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
One Last Wish,
Y Pants,
Lucky Dragons,
Average White Band,
Amazonics,
the Sonics,
Shuggie Otis,
June Days,
The United States of America,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Tubeway Army,
Anthony Braxton,
The Motions,
The Monks,
Dawn Penn,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Godley & Creme,
Jesper Dahlback,
Ponytail,
Interpol,
The Fugs,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Chris Corsano,
Malaria!,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Saccharine Trust,
Derrick May,
Matthew Halsall,
The Star Department,
Alton Ellis,
Patti Smith,
Deadbeat,
Country Teasers,
Jeru the Damaja,
Popol Vuh,
Quantec,
Tim Buckley,
Jeff Mills,
John Coltrane, John Coltrane, John Coltrane, John Coltrane.
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.