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 Kosovo and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1965 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 Holger Czukay 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 48th St. Collective to the electroclash 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 Amazonics. All the underground hits.
All Urselle tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Accadde A record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 güiro and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sarah Menescal record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Absolute Body Control,
Deadbeat,
Gang Green,
Parry Music,
Josef K,
Minor Threat,
The Velvet Underground,
Banda Bassotti,
Sister Nancy,
The United States of America,
Joensuu 1685,
Sex Pistols,
James White and The Blacks,
Angry Samoans,
Theoretical Girls,
the Fania All-Stars,
Roy Ayers,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Morten Harket,
Inner City,
The Birthday Party,
Y Pants,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Pagans,
Wire,
Icehouse,
Symarip,
Patti Smith,
DNA,
Matthew Bourne,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
the Swans,
Sunsets and Hearts,
T. Rex,
Stockholm Monsters,
Tears for Fears,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Wings,
48th St. Collective,
Warsaw,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Dirtbombs,
Brand Nubian,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Skatalites,
Kerrie Biddell,
Qualms,
Toni Rubio,
Piero Umiliani,
Intrusion,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
H. Thieme,
Black Bananas,
The Tremeloes,
Drexciya,
MC5,
Scott Walker,
Thee Headcoats,
Joy Division,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Fugs,
Bobby Sherman,
The Mojo Men,
Camouflage, Camouflage, Camouflage, Camouflage.
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.