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 Indonesia and from Columbus.
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 1961 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Glasgow.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 PIL to the disco 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 The Blackbyrds. All the underground hits.
All Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mark Hollis record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Happenings record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Boogie Down Productions,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Dawn Penn,
The Offenders,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Sugar Minott,
Bobby Byrd,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Das Ding,
Maleditus Sound,
Pagans,
Simply Red,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Lalann,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
The Standells,
a-ha,
Barry Ungar,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Freddie Wadling,
Marvin Gaye,
Chrome,
MC5,
Bad Manners,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Skarface,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Neu!,
Chris Corsano,
The Flesh Eaters,
Mo-Dettes,
Ken Boothe,
Reagan Youth,
Rakim,
Black Bananas,
John Cale,
Heaven 17,
FM Einheit,
Q65,
Kool Moe Dee,
the Fania All-Stars,
Mission of Burma,
Underground Resistance,
Dead Boys,
The Black Dice,
Deepchord,
Pantaleimon,
The Fire Engines,
Suburban Knight,
The Associates,
Sexual Harrassment,
Warren Ellis,
Bush Tetras,
Amazonics,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Sound Behaviour,
Amon Düül,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Stetsasonic,
Junior Murvin,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Talk Talk,
Sonic Youth, Sonic Youth, Sonic Youth, Sonic Youth.
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.