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 Turkmenistan and from Salvador.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise 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 1962 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 Lou Reed 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 American Breed to the funk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Fugazi. All the underground hits.
All The Dave Clark Five tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Idris Muhammad record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap 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 a rhodes and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Detroit Cobras record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Camouflage,
One Last Wish,
Aural Exciters,
Jeff Mills,
Make Up,
The Gun Club,
Can,
Neil Young,
Severed Heads,
Cheater Slicks,
Mantronix,
Negative Approach,
The Fugs,
Pantaleimon,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Soul II Soul,
The Remains,
Eden Ahbez,
The Shadows of Knight,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Throbbing Gristle,
The Barracudas,
Bauhaus,
Nick Fraelich,
Sandy B,
Ken Boothe,
Eric Copeland,
Nation of Ulysses,
Agent Orange,
Jeru the Damaja,
Agitation Free,
Basic Channel,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Junior Murvin,
The Vogues,
Curtis Mayfield,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The Birthday Party,
The Cramps,
Nico,
Crispy Ambulance,
F. McDonald,
The Raincoats,
Avey Tare,
L. Decosne,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
E-Dancer,
Dawn Penn,
Robert Görl,
Johnny Osbourne,
The Last Poets,
Nirvana,
The Gladiators,
Scratch Acid,
Khruangbin,
Ultimate Spinach,
Massinfluence,
Man Parrish,
Ohio Players,
Buzzcocks,
Smog,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Excepter,
Bobby Byrd,
Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu.
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.