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 Qatar and from Mexico City.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1968 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Houston 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 clarinet 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 China Crisis to the rap 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 Busters. All the underground hits.
All Erasure tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Dual Sessions record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Todd Rundgren record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Move,
Sister Nancy,
Sexual Harrassment,
Robert Wyatt,
Man Eating Sloth,
Patti Smith,
Erykah Badu,
Mo-Dettes,
Alice Coltrane,
Scion,
Negative Approach,
Man Parrish,
Scrapy,
Gang Green,
Cybotron,
David Bowie,
Dark Day,
Peter and Kerry,
Terrestrial Tones,
LL Cool J,
Barry Ungar,
48th St. Collective,
10cc,
DJ Style,
Unwound,
Deepchord,
Youth Brigade,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Peter & Gordon,
Jawbox,
Tom Boy,
Funky Four + One,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Spandau Ballet,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
kango's stein massive,
Roxette,
China Crisis,
Warren Ellis,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Anthony Braxton,
Mission of Burma,
Lower 48,
Faust,
Juan Atkins,
Tommy Roe,
The Doors,
EPMD,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Red Krayola,
The Motions,
Main Source,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Crispy Ambulance,
Joe Smooth,
Black Moon,
Grauzone,
Fear,
Junior Murvin,
Ituana, Ituana, Ituana, Ituana.
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.