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 Singapore and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1965 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Seoul.
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 snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Metal Thangz to the grunge kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Pantaleimon. All the underground hits.
All Tropical Tobacco tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Radiohead record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge 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 theremin and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Nas record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes 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 Walker Brothers,
Kayak,
Bobby Sherman,
Matthew Halsall,
Rapeman,
EPMD,
Barrington Levy,
Chrome,
Man Parrish,
Brothers Johnson,
Blake Baxter,
Amon Düül,
Boz Scaggs,
Chris & Cosey,
Vainqueur,
Circle Jerks,
Clear Light,
Can,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
The Vogues,
The Smiths,
Depeche Mode,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Hashim,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Maurizio,
Joey Negro,
Scan 7,
Minutemen,
The Electric Prunes,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The Blues Magoos,
Moss Icon,
kango's stein massive,
The Star Department,
Japan,
Youth Brigade,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Jawbox,
The Martian,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Smoke,
The Mojo Men,
Tomorrow,
Peter & Gordon,
MDC,
Lower 48,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
The Alarm Clocks,
DJ Style,
Bob Dylan,
Index,
JFA,
Stockholm Monsters,
Andrew Hill,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
PIL,
The Residents,
Tres Demented,
Freddie Wadling,
Basic Channel,
Roy Ayers, Roy Ayers, Roy Ayers, Roy Ayers.
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.