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 Bhutan and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Throbbing Gristle 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 1966 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Peter and Kerry to the crunk 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 Nick Fraelich. All the underground hits.
All Bootsy's Rubber Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Johnny Osbourne record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 a linndrum and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Traffic Nightmare record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Derrick May,
Davy DMX,
Kayak,
Blancmange,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Goldenarms,
KRS-One,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
The Raincoats,
Marmalade,
Heaven 17,
Bill Wells,
Faraquet,
Morten Harket,
David Axelrod,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Rekid,
Von Mondo,
The Sonics,
Lower 48,
Boredoms,
Sandy B,
Fatback Band,
John Holt,
Y Pants,
Public Image Ltd.,
Grandmaster Flash,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Joensuu 1685,
Girls At Our Best!,
Bill Near,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
The Young Rascals,
Nils Olav,
Janne Schatter,
Main Source,
Tomorrow,
Erasure,
Bobby Byrd,
Aaron Thompson,
Bauhaus,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Lou Christie,
Rites of Spring,
Nas,
Youth Brigade,
Gang of Four,
Pantytec,
Marshall Jefferson,
Newcleus,
The Busters,
Inner City,
Reuben Wilson,
Harpers Bizarre,
Ralphi Rosario,
Pole,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Barry Ungar,
EPMD,
CMW,
Alton Ellis, Alton Ellis, Alton Ellis, Alton Ellis.
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.