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 Saudi Arabia and from Bologna.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia 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 1968 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 The Techniques to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Stiv Bators. All the underground hits.
All Massinfluence tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Moebius record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 güiro and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bootsy Collins record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Crispian St. Peters,
The Birthday Party,
The Motions,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Terry Callier,
Peter and Kerry,
Cymande,
Lungfish,
The Selecter,
DJ Sneak,
Little Man,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Khruangbin,
Nas,
Ten City,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Harpers Bizarre,
Warsaw,
Urselle,
Chris Corsano,
Public Enemy,
The Saints,
Harmonia,
Rekid,
The Trojans,
Fat Boys,
The Techniques,
The Angels of Light,
ABBA,
Theoretical Girls,
X-101,
T. Rex,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Doobie Brothers,
The Cramps,
Mission of Burma,
Buzzcocks,
Anakelly,
Ken Boothe,
Henry Cow,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Los Fastidios,
The United States of America,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Model 500,
John Cale,
Gerry Rafferty,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Cluster,
Zero Boys,
Traffic Nightmare,
Kerri Chandler,
Gregory Isaacs,
Curtis Mayfield,
The Star Department,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Eddi Front,
Ronnie Foster,
Radiohead, Radiohead, Radiohead, Radiohead.
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.