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 Gambia and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1969 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Delhi.
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 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 Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane to the punk 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 Jesper Dahlbäck. All the underground hits.
All The Shadows of Knight tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sad Lovers and Giants record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a John Lydon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Judy Mowatt,
Kerri Chandler,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Leaves,
Scientists,
The Divine Comedy,
Girls At Our Best!,
The Slackers,
Stetsasonic,
Clear Light,
The Golliwogs,
The Invisible,
This Heat,
Dead Boys,
Althea and Donna,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Gladiators,
Animal Collective,
Jimmy McGriff,
LL Cool J,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Banda Bassotti,
UT,
The Techniques,
Todd Terry,
Jacob Miller,
Marshall Jefferson,
Lakeside,
Joe Finger,
Newcleus,
Eric Dolphy,
The Black Dice,
Eurythmics,
Sugar Minott,
DJ Style,
Crispian St. Peters,
the Normal,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Peter and Kerry,
Michelle Simonal,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The Music Machine,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Rufus Thomas,
The Busters,
Aural Exciters,
AZ,
Agent Orange,
Cymande,
Traffic Nightmare,
Rotary Connection,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Aloha Tigers,
Amon Düül,
James Chance & The Contortions,
48th St. Collective,
Prince Buster,
Bluetip,
Shoche,
Urselle,
Ice-T, Ice-T, Ice-T, Ice-T.
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.