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 Estonia and from Cairo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Shuggie Otis to the grime kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Angry Samoans. All the underground hits.
All Neil Young tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ossler record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Human League record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Motorama,
Bob Dylan,
David Bowie,
The Wake,
The Walker Brothers,
Sugar Minott,
Yazoo,
Joe Smooth,
Man Parrish,
a-ha,
Sound Behaviour,
Section 25,
The Offenders,
Gichy Dan,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
the Bar-Kays,
Eric Dolphy,
Shuggie Otis,
Sex Pistols,
The Five Americans,
Carl Craig,
Gregory Isaacs,
Dorothy Ashby,
Terrestrial Tones,
The Names,
Fela Kuti,
John Cale,
Hashim,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Dead Boys,
Khruangbin,
Interpol,
In Retrospect,
The Barracudas,
Soft Cell,
Ultravox,
Dave Gahan,
Procol Harum,
Avey Tare,
Deepchord,
Negative Approach,
Judy Mowatt,
Delon & Dalcan,
The Saints,
Alphaville,
Young Marble Giants,
Ossler,
Crispy Ambulance,
Minny Pops,
The Associates,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Matthew Bourne,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Bootsy Collins,
Hardrive,
Angry Samoans,
The Index,
Marine Girls,
Hot Snakes,
Jerry Gold Smith, Jerry Gold Smith, Jerry Gold Smith, Jerry Gold Smith.
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.