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 Croatia and from Johannesburg.
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 1963 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Delhi.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 Captain Beefheart 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 Sonny Sharrock to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Moleskins. All the underground hits.
All World's Most tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every OOIOO 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ossler record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Slackers,
The Fortunes,
Ralphi Rosario,
The Smoke,
The Moody Blues,
Traffic Nightmare,
Bauhaus,
Sam Rivers,
Boz Scaggs,
Magma,
The Toasters,
the Soft Cell,
The J.B.'s,
the Association,
The Alarm Clocks,
KRS-One,
Crime,
Fatback Band,
Blake Baxter,
Porter Ricks,
The Associates,
Clear Light,
The New Christs,
Jacob Miller,
Loose Ends,
Kool Moe Dee,
Michelle Simonal,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Connie Case,
Technova,
Rekid,
Jeff Mills,
Lungfish,
Minny Pops,
Kevin Saunderson,
Don Cherry,
Arcadia,
Scan 7,
Roxette,
The Doobie Brothers,
Country Teasers,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
The Remains,
Grey Daturas,
Roxy Music,
Rakim,
Guru Guru,
Crash Course in Science,
Prince Buster,
Glenn Branca,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Nik Kershaw,
The Selecter,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
U.S. Maple,
New Age Steppers,
Gong,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
E-Dancer, E-Dancer, E-Dancer, E-Dancer.
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.