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 Mauritania and from Philadelphia.
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 1969 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 1983 at the first Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Banda Bassotti to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Pylon. All the underground hits.
All Soul Sonic Force tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Arthur Verocai record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Royal Family And The Poor record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
CMW,
Dual Sessions,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Japan,
Echospace,
The Gap Band,
Crime,
Icehouse,
Khruangbin,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Monochrome Set,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Toni Rubio,
Bobby Womack,
Arab on Radar,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
X-101,
The Seeds,
The Dave Clark Five,
Excepter,
Shuggie Otis,
The Skatalites,
Clear Light,
Roy Ayers,
The Techniques,
Soul II Soul,
The Searchers,
Fat Boys,
Electric Prunes,
Funky Four + One,
Duran Duran,
Nas,
Mantronix,
Deadbeat,
Severed Heads,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Kerri Chandler,
The Electric Prunes,
Laurel Aitken,
Bobby Hutcherson,
The Velvet Underground,
Joe Finger,
Parry Music,
Banda Bassotti,
The Smoke,
The Blues Magoos,
The Cowsills,
The Tremeloes,
DJ Style,
New York Dolls,
Chris & Cosey,
Max Romeo,
Lalo Schifrin,
Gang of Four,
The Birthday Party,
Anthony Braxton,
Ituana,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Yusef Lateef,
Niagra,
Juan Atkins,
Cameo, Cameo, Cameo, Cameo.
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.