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 Croatia and from Beijing.
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 1961 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar 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 Nils Olav to the rap 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 The Gories. All the underground hits.
All The Gories tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Cowsills record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Buckinghams record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ornette Coleman,
Suicide,
Motorama,
Susan Cadogan,
Intrusion,
Tomorrow,
Easy Going,
Boz Scaggs,
The Pop Group,
Ludus,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Man Parrish,
DNA,
Bootsy Collins,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Rhythm & Sound,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Mission of Burma,
the Human League,
These Immortal Souls,
Soul Sonic Force,
The American Breed,
Eric Dolphy,
The Vogues,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Leonard Cohen,
UT,
Faraquet,
Youth Brigade,
Faust,
Massinfluence,
Grey Daturas,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Hoover,
Country Joe & The Fish,
48th St. Collective,
Johnny Osbourne,
Altered Images,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Eden Ahbez,
Drexciya,
Dorothy Ashby,
Joe Smooth,
Q65,
Clear Light,
Cal Tjader,
Jandek,
Parry Music,
Byron Stingily,
Avey Tare,
The Mummies,
Eddi Front,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Newcleus,
Ten City,
The Grass Roots,
Swell Maps,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Aaron Thompson,
Big Daddy Kane,
The Five Americans,
Tres Demented,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Heaven 17, Heaven 17, Heaven 17, Heaven 17.
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.