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 Djibouti and from London.
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 1961 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lyon and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 chamberlin 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 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson to the rock 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 Depeche Mode. All the underground hits.
All Popol Vuh tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Michelle Simonal record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 a guitar and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gil Scott Heron record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
John Cale,
The Zeros,
The Happenings,
T.S.O.L.,
a-ha,
Funky Four + One,
Archie Shepp,
Lightning Bolt,
E-Dancer,
Average White Band,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Laurel Aitken,
Procol Harum,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
The Searchers,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Tubeway Army,
Cybotron,
Patti Smith,
Rhythm & Sound,
Todd Rundgren,
Quando Quango,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Mo-Dettes,
Fluxion,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
The Golliwogs,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Gichy Dan,
Ossler,
AZ,
Surgeon,
DJ Style,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Motions,
Tomorrow,
Lungfish,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
OOIOO,
Sunsets and Hearts,
the Slits,
Radio Birdman,
Sällskapet,
Maleditus Sound,
It's A Beautiful Day,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Goldenarms,
Scrapy,
Schoolly D,
Scan 7,
Soulsonic Force,
Girls At Our Best!,
Man Eating Sloth,
The Velvet Underground,
Brothers Johnson,
Pagans,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Howard Jones,
Marine Girls, Marine Girls, Marine Girls, Marine Girls.
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.