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 Lebanon and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1960 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 synthesizer 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 The Blues Magoos to the rap kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Supertramp. All the underground hits.
All The Pop Group tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Black Moon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 sitar and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Graham Central Station record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Suburban Knight,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Flash Fearless,
Newcleus,
Harpers Bizarre,
Dennis Brown,
Rekid,
Interpol,
D'Angelo,
Boogie Down Productions,
June Days,
LL Cool J,
Eric Dolphy,
Tim Buckley,
Quantec,
the Normal,
Brothers Johnson,
DNA,
X-Ray Spex,
Skriet,
Howard Jones,
Oneida,
The Birthday Party,
Das Ding,
Funky Four + One,
The Modern Lovers,
Rufus Thomas,
the Slits,
Public Image Ltd.,
Hardrive,
Kool Moe Dee,
Bob Dylan,
Hashim,
The United States of America,
Joe Smooth,
The Dead C,
Terrestrial Tones,
Robert Hood,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Pantaleimon,
Sonic Youth,
The Shadows of Knight,
Sun City Girls,
Ohio Players,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Electric Prunes,
DJ Style,
Letta Mbulu,
Massinfluence,
Jimmy McGriff,
These Immortal Souls,
Josef K,
Byron Stingily,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Hasil Adkins,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Glenn Branca,
Yazoo,
Severed Heads,
8 Eyed Spy,
Gang Starr,
Steve Hackett,
The Doors, The Doors, The Doors, The Doors.
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.