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 Iraq and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in 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 1962 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 oboe 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 Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Gang Starr. All the underground hits.
All Pole tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Country Joe & The Fish record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock 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 rhodes and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Terrestrial Tones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Index,
Lebanon Hanover,
Gastr Del Sol,
Scan 7,
Colin Newman,
The Monks,
One Last Wish,
Main Source,
Whodini,
Aural Exciters,
Ludus,
The Mojo Men,
Mad Mike,
Johnny Clarke,
Y Pants,
Ralphi Rosario,
The Pop Group,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Black Bananas,
Maleditus Sound,
DJ Style,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Little Man,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Magma,
Mission of Burma,
Harpers Bizarre,
Traffic Nightmare,
Underground Resistance,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Frankie Knuckles,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Bobby Byrd,
Black Sheep,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
A Certain Ratio,
Hardrive,
Talk Talk,
KRS-One,
Jacob Miller,
Simply Red,
Joy Division,
Sparks,
The Real Kids,
James Chance & The Contortions,
U.S. Maple,
Cecil Taylor,
Grandmaster Flash,
David Bowie,
FM Einheit,
PIL,
The Pretty Things,
Outsiders,
Ohio Players,
Funky Four + One,
Rufus Thomas,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Cheater Slicks,
Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins.
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.