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 the UAE and from Shanghai.
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 1962 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 It's A Beautiful Day to the rap 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 Gap Band. All the underground hits.
All Masters at Work tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Angry Samoans 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Surgeon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Malaria!,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
The Alarm Clocks,
Dark Day,
Judy Mowatt,
Drexciya,
Aswad,
KRS-One,
Jesper Dahlback,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
The Slits,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
New Age Steppers,
Ornette Coleman,
Radiohead,
Kevin Saunderson,
Chrome,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
David Bowie,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
The Sisters of Mercy,
The Techniques,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Banda Bassotti,
Ultra Naté,
Yaz,
Livin' Joy,
Anakelly,
One Last Wish,
Bob Dylan,
L. Decosne,
Donny Hathaway,
Oblivians,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Lower 48,
The Seeds,
Sex Pistols,
Urselle,
the Soft Cell,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Michelle Simonal,
Severed Heads,
Ice-T,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Pere Ubu,
Fear,
The Golliwogs,
Johnny Osbourne,
Silicon Teens,
a-ha,
Rufus Thomas,
Mo-Dettes,
Sun Ra,
The Smoke,
Angry Samoans,
Sandy B,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Scan 7,
Electric Prunes,
Trumans Water, Trumans Water, Trumans Water, Trumans Water.
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.