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 Madrid.
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 1964 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Scott Walker to the rock 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 Dave Clark Five. All the underground hits.
All The Residents tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Skatalites 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Birthday Party record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Panda Bear,
Donald Byrd,
Traffic Nightmare,
EPMD,
Pagans,
Crash Course in Science,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Sällskapet,
Freddie Wadling,
The Martian,
Subhumans,
Liliput,
Blake Baxter,
Roy Ayers,
the Germs,
Marine Girls,
Jerry's Kids,
Neu!,
Fluxion,
Motorama,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Minnie Riperton,
Cal Tjader,
Robert Hood,
Gang Green,
Janne Schatter,
T.S.O.L.,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Jacques Brel,
The Monochrome Set,
Josef K,
Marvin Gaye,
Rites of Spring,
The Residents,
Cymande,
Young Marble Giants,
Grandmaster Flash,
Eli Mardock,
LL Cool J,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Lungfish,
Monks,
Derrick Morgan,
Youth Brigade,
Dennis Brown,
Bill Near,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Aloha Tigers,
Aural Exciters,
Radiohead,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Mojo Men,
The Blues Magoos,
Das Ding,
Fad Gadget,
Soft Machine,
Drexciya,
Amazonics,
Lalann,
Theoretical Girls,
Grey Daturas, Grey Daturas, Grey Daturas, Grey Daturas.
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.