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 Dominica and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1965 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 marimba 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 Todd Rundgren to the funk kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Neil Young. All the underground hits.
All Y Pants tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Fear 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a New Order record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Babytalk,
EPMD,
Jawbox,
Swans,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Patti Smith,
Cheater Slicks,
Monolake,
Steve Hackett,
Blossom Toes,
John Foxx,
Yaz,
Harpers Bizarre,
Mo-Dettes,
Supertramp,
Howard Jones,
Essential Logic,
The Mojo Men,
Pierre Henry,
the Fania All-Stars,
Jacob Miller,
Trumans Water,
The Smiths,
Peter and Kerry,
The Mummies,
Drive Like Jehu,
Harry Pussy,
Los Fastidios,
Shuggie Otis,
Aswad,
The Flesh Eaters,
Reuben Wilson,
Skaos,
Sonny Sharrock,
Excepter,
Joy Division,
10cc,
Donny Hathaway,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Soft Machine,
Main Source,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Robert Görl,
Max Romeo,
The Vogues,
Thompson Twins,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Marine Girls,
Nik Kershaw,
Chris & Cosey,
Sun City Girls,
Bauhaus,
The Toasters,
Flash Fearless,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Monks,
Scientists,
Sexual Harrassment,
Scrapy,
The Leaves,
Derrick May, Derrick May, Derrick May, Derrick May.
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.