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 Greece and from Manila.
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 1964 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
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 Cymande to the dance 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 Pierre Henry. All the underground hits.
All Deadbeat tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Gladiators record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ohio Players record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Parry Music,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Cure,
ABBA,
Archie Shepp,
China Crisis,
Joensuu 1685,
Kurtis Blow,
Scratch Acid,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Inner City,
Ornette Coleman,
Neu!,
Drive Like Jehu,
Kayak,
Toni Rubio,
Interpol,
Simply Red,
The Blues Magoos,
Banda Bassotti,
Easy Going,
Harry Pussy,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Gabor Szabo,
Moby Grape,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Funky Four + One,
the Human League,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Pere Ubu,
Clear Light,
Sun City Girls,
Animal Collective,
Supertramp,
Eli Mardock,
Slick Rick,
Subhumans,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
The Gories,
The Monochrome Set,
The United States of America,
Sällskapet,
X-101,
Monks,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
The Alarm Clocks,
Average White Band,
Jeff Mills,
Ash Ra Tempel,
F. McDonald,
The Motions,
Donny Hathaway,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
LL Cool J,
The Leaves,
Albert Ayler,
Juan Atkins,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Connie Case,
Crispy Ambulance, Crispy Ambulance, Crispy Ambulance, Crispy Ambulance.
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.