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 Malta and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Fela Kuti to the crunk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Move. All the underground hits.
All The Invisible tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every China Crisis record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 guitar and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Pretty Things record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Tubeway Army,
The Busters,
Wire,
Alphaville,
Lalann,
Anakelly,
Barrington Levy,
Radiopuhelimet,
Jesper Dahlback,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
This Heat,
Black Sheep,
Maleditus Sound,
Althea and Donna,
Monolake,
Sixth Finger,
Wings,
Janne Schatter,
Eric Dolphy,
Niagra,
Liliput,
David McCallum,
John Foxx,
Rufus Thomas,
Country Teasers,
Tomorrow,
Schoolly D,
Sarah Menescal,
Rekid,
Moebius,
Subhumans,
Television Personalities,
Ronnie Foster,
kango's stein massive,
Basic Channel,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Sun City Girls,
Silicon Teens,
Bronski Beat,
Bobby Byrd,
Q65,
B.T. Express,
Vainqueur,
T.S.O.L.,
Popol Vuh,
Gong,
Quantec,
Crime,
Absolute Body Control,
Crispian St. Peters,
Neil Young,
Brand Nubian,
The Monks,
Bobby Womack,
Hashim,
The Sonics,
The Young Rascals,
Ludus,
Jandek,
Country Joe & The Fish,
The Offenders,
Mark Hollis,
OOIOO, OOIOO, OOIOO, OOIOO.
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.