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 Somalia and from Milan.
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 1964 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 rhodes sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Residents to the punk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 James White and The Blacks. All the underground hits.
All Cal Tjader tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every De La Soul & Jungle Brothers 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Laurel Aitken record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Fania All-Stars,
PIL,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Rod Modell,
X-101,
The Dave Clark Five,
Gang of Four,
Nico,
Trumans Water,
Slick Rick,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
The Techniques,
Sixth Finger,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Lucky Dragons,
Crispian St. Peters,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Big Daddy Kane,
A Certain Ratio,
LL Cool J,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Selecter,
Bobby Sherman,
Nils Olav,
Kool Moe Dee,
Jandek,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Con Funk Shun,
Joe Smooth,
CMW,
Kaleidoscope,
Bush Tetras,
Morten Harket,
JFA,
Ornette Coleman,
Ronnie Foster,
Depeche Mode,
Monks,
The Gap Band,
Hoover,
Ultimate Spinach,
Ice-T,
Tim Buckley,
Theoretical Girls,
Qualms,
Cecil Taylor,
Alphaville,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Eric Dolphy,
Public Image Ltd.,
Deakin,
Rosa Yemen,
One Last Wish,
The Five Americans,
Sparks,
The J.B.'s,
Jawbox,
Howard Jones,
Juan Atkins,
ABC, ABC, ABC, ABC.
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.