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 Guyana and from Stockholm.
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 1963 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Roy Ayers Ubiquity to the funk kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Man Parrish. All the underground hits.
All Fort Wilson Riot tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Aswad record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock 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 harpsichord and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Nils Olav record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Grass Roots,
Stetsasonic,
Morten Harket,
Sun Ra,
Tubeway Army,
Pierre Henry,
The Blackbyrds,
Susan Cadogan,
Ohio Players,
Skriet,
Nik Kershaw,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Rod Modell,
Bluetip,
Hasil Adkins,
Mantronix,
The Busters,
Marmalade,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Derrick May,
Colin Newman,
Barry Ungar,
In Retrospect,
Gregory Isaacs,
Funky Four + One,
Be Bop Deluxe,
the Swans,
Soul II Soul,
Steve Hackett,
a-ha,
Little Man,
Dorothy Ashby,
John Foxx,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Black Bananas,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
E-Dancer,
Ten City,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Bad Manners,
AZ,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Liliput,
The Misunderstood,
T. Rex,
The Fortunes,
Ponytail,
The Knickerbockers,
The Doors,
Ken Boothe,
Eli Mardock,
Drexciya,
The Invisible,
The Happenings,
Scientists,
the Human League,
Los Fastidios,
Yazoo,
Johnny Clarke, Johnny Clarke, Johnny Clarke, Johnny Clarke.
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.