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 Nigeria and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 clarinet 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 Goldenarms to the disco kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Wolf Eyes. All the underground hits.
All The Divine Comedy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Basic Channel record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a David Bowie record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Marshall Jefferson,
Johnny Clarke,
Schoolly D,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Andrew Hill,
Blossom Toes,
Maurizio,
Curtis Mayfield,
Juan Atkins,
Soft Cell,
MDC,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Cameo,
Camberwell Now,
Masters at Work,
Magma,
Circle Jerks,
It's A Beautiful Day,
the Bar-Kays,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Boredoms,
Tropical Tobacco,
Black Moon,
Deadbeat,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Wally Richardson,
Eric Dolphy,
The Stooges,
Sällskapet,
The Zeros,
Suicide,
Idris Muhammad,
OOIOO,
Chris & Cosey,
Royal Trux,
Beasts of Bourbon,
The Five Americans,
Technova,
Monolake,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Dead Boys,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Sandy B,
The Shadows of Knight,
Model 500,
Crash Course in Science,
Young Marble Giants,
Cymande,
Barry Ungar,
Dave Gahan,
Jimmy McGriff,
the Human League,
Electric Prunes,
Public Enemy,
Sam Rivers,
The Moody Blues,
The Knickerbockers,
Lalann,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Lucky Dragons,
The Names, The Names, The Names, The Names.
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.