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 Iran 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 1965 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Soft Machine 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 Ossler. All the underground hits.
All The Techniques tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Knickerbockers 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Funky Four + One record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Mars,
Hardrive,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Cymande,
Nick Fraelich,
Cameo,
Von Mondo,
The Blues Magoos,
Funkadelic,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Toni Rubio,
The Last Poets,
Eli Mardock,
These Immortal Souls,
Subhumans,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Fad Gadget,
Ten City,
Boz Scaggs,
Scrapy,
Big Daddy Kane,
8 Eyed Spy,
ABBA,
Japan,
Gong,
Average White Band,
Ornette Coleman,
Mark Hollis,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Marshall Jefferson,
The Human League,
Unrelated Segments,
JFA,
Slave,
The Durutti Column,
Easy Going,
Marine Girls,
The Gun Club,
Pharoah Sanders,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
One Last Wish,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Outsiders,
Radio Birdman,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Blancmange,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Nik Kershaw,
Judy Mowatt,
The Fall,
Black Moon,
MDC,
Eric B and Rakim,
Nico,
Bill Near,
Reuben Wilson,
Ken Boothe,
Sun Ra, Sun Ra, Sun Ra, Sun Ra.
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.