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 Seychelles and from Sao Paulo.
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 1967 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 1977 at the first Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Letta Mbulu to the disco kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Deadbeat. All the underground hits.
All Liliput tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hoover record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Aswad record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Human League,
Alison Limerick,
Sun Ra,
Mission of Burma,
Metal Thangz,
Hardrive,
DJ Sneak,
Au Pairs,
The Busters,
Joe Finger,
T. Rex,
Chris & Cosey,
The Fuzztones,
Cymande,
Rapeman,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Skaos,
Sex Pistols,
Panda Bear,
Glambeats Corp.,
Kool Moe Dee,
Wasted Youth,
Blossom Toes,
Skarface,
Boogie Down Productions,
Bobby Womack,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Ten City,
The Black Dice,
Black Flag,
kango's stein massive,
The Gap Band,
Eve St. Jones,
Prince Buster,
Max Romeo,
The Flesh Eaters,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Television Personalities,
Sun City Girls,
Leonard Cohen,
Ken Boothe,
Fela Kuti,
Shoche,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Deadbeat,
The Star Department,
Joe Smooth,
Arthur Verocai,
The Names,
Kenny Larkin,
Dorothy Ashby,
EPMD,
The American Breed,
L. Decosne,
Nils Olav,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Lower 48,
Nation of Ulysses,
June of 44,
Nick Fraelich,
The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy.
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.