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 Tonga and from Copenhagen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Delhi.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 marimba 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 Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog to the punk 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 Trojans. All the underground hits.
All Technova tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Underground Resistance 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Kaleidoscope record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pagans,
Soul II Soul,
Drexciya,
Skriet,
F. McDonald,
the Slits,
The Mojo Men,
The Mummies,
Mo-Dettes,
Terry Callier,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
X-102,
Marshall Jefferson,
Soft Machine,
Derrick Morgan,
Thee Headcoats,
The Cure,
Lalann,
Prince Buster,
The Gories,
The Alarm Clocks,
Mantronix,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Banda Bassotti,
The Names,
Ultravox,
The Gap Band,
The Gladiators,
Gregory Isaacs,
Cecil Taylor,
Ronnie Foster,
Soft Cell,
OOIOO,
Shoche,
Icehouse,
Faraquet,
Quadrant,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Cymande,
The Red Krayola,
Wings,
Ken Boothe,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Man Parrish,
Scratch Acid,
Radiohead,
Andrew Hill,
Curtis Mayfield,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Dual Sessions,
The Electric Prunes,
JFA,
Bob Dylan,
Nik Kershaw,
Chrome,
Delon & Dalcan,
Toni Rubio,
Absolute Body Control,
The Barracudas,
Khruangbin,
Sound Behaviour,
Arab on Radar,
Joyce Sims,
The Invisible, The Invisible, The Invisible, The Invisible.
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.