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 Guinea and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 rhodes 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 Crispian St. Peters to the crunk 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 Fluxion. All the underground hits.
All Toni Rubio tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Spoonie Gee record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Hot Snakes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Little Man,
David Axelrod,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Siglo XX,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Television Personalities,
Darondo,
The Detroit Cobras,
Black Bananas,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Andrew Hill,
Dorothy Ashby,
John Coltrane,
Quando Quango,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
The Young Rascals,
Harry Pussy,
Ohio Players,
Brothers Johnson,
Joy Division,
Jacob Miller,
Aural Exciters,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
CMW,
The Litter,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Erykah Badu,
Marine Girls,
Nas,
Gregory Isaacs,
Animal Collective,
The Names,
the Normal,
Wally Richardson,
Hot Snakes,
Gabor Szabo,
Banda Bassotti,
Lou Christie,
The Cosmic Jokers,
John Foxx,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Hasil Adkins,
Kayak,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Joey Negro,
Scratch Acid,
Kerrie Biddell,
Flamin' Groovies,
David McCallum,
Pussy Galore,
Intrusion,
Arthur Verocai,
Patti Smith,
Tim Buckley,
Mandrill,
Fifty Foot Hose,
The Walker Brothers,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Nils Olav, Nils Olav, Nils Olav, Nils Olav.
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.