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 Burundi and from Manchester.
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 1961 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Tehran.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 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 E-Dancer to the crunk kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Manfred Mann's Earth Band. All the underground hits.
All The Trojans tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every AZ record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a JFA record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Cal Tjader,
Dead Boys,
Agent Orange,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Second Layer,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Mark Hollis,
Glambeats Corp.,
Judy Mowatt,
Unrelated Segments,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
The Standells,
Camouflage,
Kaleidoscope,
Donald Byrd,
Marc Almond,
the Normal,
Ice-T,
the Human League,
Supertramp,
Pantytec,
Half Japanese,
Gang Gang Dance,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Fuzztones,
Reagan Youth,
Faraquet,
Marcia Griffiths,
Tom Boy,
Eve St. Jones,
Lebanon Hanover,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
JFA,
Pet Shop Boys,
Graham Central Station,
Connie Case,
X-102,
Anakelly,
The Busters,
World's Most,
Mad Mike,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Radio Birdman,
Piero Umiliani,
Fad Gadget,
Susan Cadogan,
Juan Atkins,
Tres Demented,
China Crisis,
John Lydon,
Gichy Dan,
Vladislav Delay,
Can,
Eurythmics,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Sexual Harrassment,
Radiopuhelimet,
H. Thieme, H. Thieme, H. Thieme, H. Thieme.
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.