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 Belize 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 1964 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Calgary.
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 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 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 The United States of America to the grime 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 Sly & The Family Stone. All the underground hits.
All Moebius tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Mojo Men 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Crispy Ambulance record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Skarface,
Wasted Youth,
Alton Ellis,
Dorothy Ashby,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
World's Most,
The Dead C,
The Mummies,
Procol Harum,
Sun Ra,
Radiopuhelimet,
Thompson Twins,
The Zeros,
The Durutti Column,
Mandrill,
Deepchord,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Swell Maps,
Rod Modell,
Jacob Miller,
Spandau Ballet,
Jandek,
Man Parrish,
Scratch Acid,
Reagan Youth,
Aswad,
Tomorrow,
Cluster,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Faust,
Gastr Del Sol,
Barrington Levy,
The Trojans,
Crispian St. Peters,
Fad Gadget,
Terrestrial Tones,
Ornette Coleman,
Henry Cow,
Black Moon,
Easy Going,
Brand Nubian,
The Fortunes,
Supertramp,
Frankie Knuckles,
Audionom,
Soulsonic Force,
Minutemen,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
JFA,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Glenn Branca,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Dawn Penn,
FM Einheit,
Thee Headcoats,
Zapp,
Jimmy McGriff,
the Sonics,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
The Names,
The Real Kids,
Ronan, Ronan, Ronan, Ronan.
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.