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 Namibia and from Winnipeg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Woodstock.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 rhodes 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 Notorious Big And Bone Thugs to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Beau Brummels. All the underground hits.
All Soul Sonic Force tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mandrill record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Gladiators record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Dennis Brown,
Faraquet,
Desert Stars,
The Fuzztones,
Jacob Miller,
Matthew Bourne,
Agitation Free,
Todd Rundgren,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Leonard Cohen,
The New Christs,
Prince Buster,
Pantytec,
Gang Green,
The Cramps,
Sonic Youth,
Parry Music,
Colin Newman,
The Moody Blues,
Jeff Lynne,
Sight & Sound,
Motorama,
Can,
H. Thieme,
Hasil Adkins,
Robert Görl,
Ralphi Rosario,
Unwound,
Rhythm & Sound,
Eurythmics,
The Monks,
Quantec,
The Selecter,
Radiopuhelimet,
Altered Images,
Jesper Dahlback,
Glenn Branca,
Terrestrial Tones,
Public Image Ltd.,
Chrome,
Flash Fearless,
Negative Approach,
Davy DMX,
Curtis Mayfield,
Reagan Youth,
Charles Mingus,
Groovy Waters,
Japan,
The Pop Group,
the Human League,
Fad Gadget,
Gichy Dan,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Unrelated Segments,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Lucky Dragons,
Inner City,
John Holt,
Archie Shepp,
Royal Trux,
OOIOO,
Fatback Band,
Sex Pistols, Sex Pistols, Sex Pistols, Sex Pistols.
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.