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 East Timor and from Edmonton.
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 1962 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and London.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1980 at the first Cybotron practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Skriet to the rap 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 The Gories. All the underground hits.
All Yaz tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ash Ra Tempel 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Delon & Dalcan record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
La Düsseldorf,
Silicon Teens,
Urselle,
Dennis Brown,
The Cowsills,
The Beau Brummels,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Misunderstood,
Roy Ayers,
New Order,
Cameo,
Colin Newman,
Absolute Body Control,
The Mummies,
Gerry Rafferty,
Eden Ahbez,
the Germs,
The Dave Clark Five,
Sun City Girls,
Zero Boys,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Lou Christie,
ABC,
Oblivians,
Negative Approach,
Janne Schatter,
Black Pus,
Minnie Riperton,
Marvin Gaye,
Curtis Mayfield,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
The Trojans,
The Pop Group,
Barry Ungar,
K-Klass,
Yusef Lateef,
Albert Ayler,
Tim Buckley,
the Swans,
Todd Rundgren,
Make Up,
The Doobie Brothers,
The Cramps,
Scott Walker,
Hashim,
The Divine Comedy,
Tom Boy,
Fatback Band,
Minny Pops,
Maurizio,
Amazonics,
Moss Icon,
Jeru the Damaja,
Aswad,
Tubeway Army,
Heaven 17,
Public Enemy,
Underground Resistance,
Eyeless In Gaza,
The Busters,
Man Eating Sloth,
Ten City,
Roxy Music,
Qualms, Qualms, Qualms, Qualms.
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.