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 Nigeria and from Cairo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1966 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Judy Mowatt to the jazz 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 Sun Ra Arkestra. All the underground hits.
All the Soft Cell tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Popol Vuh record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a New Age Steppers record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Man Parrish,
Fatback Band,
The Sound,
Robert Görl,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Ralphi Rosario,
PIL,
Mad Mike,
8 Eyed Spy,
Flash Fearless,
Judy Mowatt,
Todd Rundgren,
Procol Harum,
Flipper,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
the Sonics,
Y Pants,
Jandek,
The Walker Brothers,
Ronan,
Hardrive,
Radiohead,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Black Sheep,
Japan,
Graham Central Station,
Gabor Szabo,
Trumans Water,
Arab on Radar,
The Durutti Column,
Echospace,
Ultimate Spinach,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Wolf Eyes,
Girls At Our Best!,
Leonard Cohen,
Kool Moe Dee,
Cal Tjader,
Harry Pussy,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Susan Cadogan,
Crime,
Soul Sonic Force,
Patti Smith,
Marine Girls,
Flamin' Groovies,
Camouflage,
Basic Channel,
Hot Snakes,
The Selecter,
Symarip,
Half Japanese,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Siglo XX,
Dual Sessions,
Terry Callier,
Scott Walker,
The Electric Prunes,
Tropical Tobacco,
Black Bananas,
Zero Boys,
Joyce Sims,
Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons.
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.