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 Johannesburg.
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 1963 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Edmonton and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 1975 at the first Throbbing Gristle practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Jesper Dahlback to the rap kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Chris & Cosey. All the underground hits.
All Skaos tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Seeds 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Porter Ricks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Slits,
Q65,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Radiopuhelimet,
Robert Hood,
Subhumans,
Eric Copeland,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Bobby Sherman,
ABBA,
Pere Ubu,
David Axelrod,
The Techniques,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
The Beau Brummels,
Animal Collective,
DJ Style,
the Association,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Black Moon,
Con Funk Shun,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
EPMD,
The Flesh Eaters,
New Age Steppers,
Agent Orange,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Curtis Mayfield,
The Doobie Brothers,
Joe Finger,
Judy Mowatt,
Depeche Mode,
The Trojans,
The Golliwogs,
Cymande,
Cameo,
Man Eating Sloth,
The Selecter,
the Bar-Kays,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Rufus Thomas,
R.M.O.,
Faust,
CMW,
the Sonics,
The Cowsills,
Urselle,
Shuggie Otis,
Ultimate Spinach,
Robert Görl,
Camberwell Now,
Marshall Jefferson,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Wally Richardson,
Deepchord,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Todd Terry,
Arab on Radar,
the Fania All-Stars,
Ohio Players,
Freddie Wadling,
Wings,
Sun Ra, Sun Ra, Sun Ra, Sun Ra.
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.