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 Mozambique and from Taipei.
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 1968 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 arpeggiator 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 Gregory Isaacs to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Martian. All the underground hits.
All kango's stein massive tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Porter Ricks 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Cowsills record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Yaz,
Con Funk Shun,
X-101,
Agent Orange,
Minutemen,
Lucky Dragons,
Animal Collective,
Rufus Thomas,
a-ha,
The Walker Brothers,
Dorothy Ashby,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Jeru the Damaja,
Rod Modell,
James White and The Blacks,
Subhumans,
Massinfluence,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Chris Corsano,
Popol Vuh,
Cameo,
T.S.O.L.,
cv313,
Beasts of Bourbon,
the Human League,
The Birthday Party,
Sight & Sound,
Fela Kuti,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Das Ding,
Pussy Galore,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Supertramp,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Fat Boys,
Joy Division,
Blossom Toes,
The Fire Engines,
Unwound,
The Victims,
Country Joe & The Fish,
This Heat,
Dawn Penn,
Hashim,
kango's stein massive,
June of 44,
The Knickerbockers,
Lyres,
Monks,
The Real Kids,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Slackers,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Alarm Clocks,
Saccharine Trust,
Tim Buckley,
Liliput,
the Normal,
The Fall,
Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes, Electric Prunes.
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.