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 Egypt and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Houston 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 1983 at the first Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the linndrum 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 Mark Hollis to the jazz 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 Bobby Womack. All the underground hits.
All Roxy Music tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Shoche 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bill Wells record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Spoonie Gee,
Gichy Dan,
Scrapy,
Deakin,
La Düsseldorf,
Popol Vuh,
The Seeds,
48th St. Collective,
Radiopuhelimet,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Television,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
the Bar-Kays,
Tomorrow,
Au Pairs,
Jerry's Kids,
Mantronix,
The Cowsills,
Joe Smooth,
The Human League,
The Fall,
Matthew Bourne,
Faraquet,
Blossom Toes,
Clear Light,
Eurythmics,
Lee Hazlewood,
Unrelated Segments,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Techniques,
Model 500,
Index,
Monolake,
Public Image Ltd.,
The Red Krayola,
Scan 7,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Vogues,
The American Breed,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Sonny Sharrock,
Amazonics,
Mary Jane Girls,
Junior Murvin,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Andrew Hill,
The Motions,
Johnny Osbourne,
Make Up,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
ABC,
the Sonics,
The Pop Group,
Alton Ellis,
Pet Shop Boys,
The Cramps,
Bootsy Collins,
Kurtis Blow,
The Slackers,
Chrome,
Gang Starr,
Bluetip, Bluetip, Bluetip, Bluetip.
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.