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 Slovenia and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx to the crunk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Tropical Tobacco. All the underground hits.
All Faraquet tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ken Boothe record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dawn Penn record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Derrick May,
Nas,
Shoche,
Gang Starr,
The Toasters,
Grandmaster Flash,
Ultimate Spinach,
Agent Orange,
Rosa Yemen,
Gang Gang Dance,
Trumans Water,
Heaven 17,
The Doors,
Roy Ayers,
New Age Steppers,
Delta 5,
Pantaleimon,
Youth Brigade,
The Victims,
Q and Not U,
Essential Logic,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Dennis Brown,
Morten Harket,
Brass Construction,
Man Eating Sloth,
David McCallum,
June of 44,
Rotary Connection,
Mr. Review,
Bang On A Can,
K-Klass,
Traffic Nightmare,
Theoretical Girls,
The Doobie Brothers,
Michelle Simonal,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Ohio Players,
Swans,
Althea and Donna,
the Normal,
Sonny Sharrock,
Anthony Braxton,
Gichy Dan,
Joey Negro,
Boredoms,
Rhythm & Sound,
JFA,
Dawn Penn,
Jandek,
Arcadia,
Fifty Foot Hose,
The American Breed,
Sexual Harrassment,
Banda Bassotti,
Juan Atkins,
Junior Murvin,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Japan,
James Chance & The Contortions,
New York Dolls, New York Dolls, New York Dolls, New York Dolls.
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.