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 Eritrea and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1964 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Rufus Thomas to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Sparks. All the underground hits.
All Heavy D & The Boyz tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Smoke record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Black Moon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Thompson Twins,
Man Eating Sloth,
Eddi Front,
New Age Steppers,
Archie Shepp,
Public Image Ltd.,
Soft Cell,
Skriet,
The Doors,
Alphaville,
Johnny Osbourne,
The Stooges,
Sällskapet,
Drexciya,
Pet Shop Boys,
Darondo,
Nick Fraelich,
F. McDonald,
Robert Hood,
Jandek,
Dark Day,
Talk Talk,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Television Personalities,
The Motions,
Gastr Del Sol,
Motorama,
New Order,
Pantytec,
Ohio Players,
Yellowson,
The Monks,
Scott Walker,
The New Christs,
Harpers Bizarre,
The United States of America,
Chris Corsano,
Mary Jane Girls,
Byron Stingily,
The Monochrome Set,
Lou Reed,
MDC,
Kool Moe Dee,
Nils Olav,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Albert Ayler,
The Fortunes,
Bang On A Can,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Associates,
The J.B.'s,
Donald Byrd,
The Last Poets,
Minny Pops,
Lebanon Hanover,
Urselle,
Average White Band,
Tim Buckley,
The Electric Prunes,
Pulsallama,
The Barracudas,
Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons, Lucky Dragons.
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.