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 Costa Rica and from Tokyo.
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 1966 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 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 Alton Ellis to the crunk 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 Carl Craig. All the underground hits.
All Drexciya tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Icehouse record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge 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 spring reverb and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Sisters of Mercy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
EPMD,
Sonny Sharrock,
Cecil Taylor,
Yusef Lateef,
Accadde A,
Blancmange,
The Birthday Party,
Pulsallama,
Pet Shop Boys,
Make Up,
Sun City Girls,
Blossom Toes,
China Crisis,
Theoretical Girls,
Grauzone,
Ossler,
Scratch Acid,
Traffic Nightmare,
Icehouse,
Alton Ellis,
Yazoo,
Bill Wells,
Inner City,
Harmonia,
Flash Fearless,
AZ,
the Fania All-Stars,
L. Decosne,
Television,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Thompson Twins,
Soul Sonic Force,
Tears for Fears,
Little Man,
Dorothy Ashby,
Newcleus,
Yellowson,
The American Breed,
Simply Red,
Henry Cow,
The Smoke,
Jacques Brel,
Livin' Joy,
The Trojans,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Boz Scaggs,
Television Personalities,
New Order,
Crooked Eye,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Eddi Front,
Albert Ayler,
Rekid,
Youth Brigade,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Jacob Miller,
Roger Hodgson,
Yaz,
Black Sheep,
Gregory Isaacs,
Second Layer,
Jeru the Damaja,
John Cale, John Cale, John Cale, John Cale.
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.