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 Marshall Islands and from Tokyo.
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 1968 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Sao Paulo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Sixth Finger to the dance kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 DNA. All the underground hits.
All Black Flag tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Happenings 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 clarinet and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Duran Duran record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Cal Tjader,
Aswad,
the Bar-Kays,
MC5,
Intrusion,
Al Stewart,
Ultravox,
Surgeon,
Chrome,
Kaleidoscope,
Kevin Saunderson,
Outsiders,
Agitation Free,
Half Japanese,
Ponytail,
The Smiths,
Reuben Wilson,
Todd Rundgren,
Quando Quango,
10cc,
Symarip,
Aloha Tigers,
The American Breed,
The Monks,
Althea and Donna,
Average White Band,
Nas,
David McCallum,
Boredoms,
Vainqueur,
Bill Near,
Derrick Morgan,
The Busters,
Brass Construction,
La Düsseldorf,
Kurtis Blow,
The Mojo Men,
The Modern Lovers,
Circle Jerks,
Johnny Clarke,
John Coltrane,
Soft Cell,
Reagan Youth,
Erasure,
The Young Rascals,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Rakim,
DJ Sneak,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Faraquet,
Nico,
Little Man,
Subhumans,
Thompson Twins,
Marc Almond,
Parry Music,
Oneida,
The Cowsills,
Harpers Bizarre,
Kerri Chandler,
The Motions,
Masters at Work, Masters at Work, Masters at Work, Masters at Work.
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.