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 Djibouti and from Copenhagen.
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 1960 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the 808 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 Young Marble Giants to the grunge 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 The Searchers. All the underground hits.
All The Electric Prunes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jandek record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Nirvana record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rapeman,
The Angels of Light,
Blake Baxter,
Nik Kershaw,
The Durutti Column,
Lungfish,
Black Bananas,
Isaac Hayes,
Archie Shepp,
Trumans Water,
T. Rex,
the Association,
Angry Samoans,
Mary Jane Girls,
World's Most,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
The Fuzztones,
June of 44,
The Evens,
The Fugs,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Marvin Gaye,
Stetsasonic,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Eric Dolphy,
Simply Red,
The Young Rascals,
The Music Machine,
Half Japanese,
Roy Ayers,
Organ,
Roger Hodgson,
Avey Tare,
the Slits,
Albert Ayler,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Lindisfarne,
Tomorrow,
The New Christs,
X-101,
Bobby Womack,
The Moody Blues,
Television Personalities,
Derrick May,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Subhumans,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Warren Ellis,
Anakelly,
Steve Hackett,
The Pretty Things,
The Slits,
The Leaves,
Sun Ra,
Urselle,
Harry Pussy,
Fat Boys,
Minor Threat,
Davy DMX,
Dorothy Ashby,
Brand Nubian,
Oblivians,
Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes.
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.