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 Afghanistan and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1965 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Franke to the grime kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Suburban Knight. All the underground hits.
All Panda Bear tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Guru Guru record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 guitar and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Neu! record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Accadde A,
Mandrill,
Scott Walker,
The Real Kids,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Maleditus Sound,
Black Bananas,
Loose Ends,
Moby Grape,
Henry Cow,
Joe Smooth,
Lucky Dragons,
DJ Style,
The Seeds,
Visage,
Gerry Rafferty,
Jimmy McGriff,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Barry Ungar,
Quando Quango,
Harmonia,
Gang Gang Dance,
Bill Wells,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Rod Modell,
Rosa Yemen,
Pet Shop Boys,
Outsiders,
Marc Almond,
The Residents,
Television Personalities,
The Flesh Eaters,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Move,
Marcia Griffiths,
James White and The Blacks,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Gun Club,
Blancmange,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
This Heat,
Talk Talk,
Essential Logic,
The United States of America,
David Axelrod,
Ituana,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Fatback Band,
Yazoo,
Mary Jane Girls,
Make Up,
Ohio Players,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Flipper,
JFA,
Alphaville,
Bad Manners,
The Dirtbombs,
Brothers Johnson,
Tomorrow,
Cluster,
Stetsasonic, Stetsasonic, Stetsasonic, Stetsasonic.
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.