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 St Kitts & Nevis and from Calgary.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Chic show in New York.
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 1964 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Glasgow 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 snare 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 Banda Bassotti to the rap kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Index. All the underground hits.
All Faust tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every June of 44 record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Heaven 17 record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Andrew Hill,
The Black Dice,
The Misunderstood,
Agitation Free,
Tom Boy,
World's Most,
The Fortunes,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
This Heat,
John Coltrane,
Rakim,
Fugazi,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Fire Engines,
Sixth Finger,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Buckinghams,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Bobby Byrd,
Theoretical Girls,
the Fania All-Stars,
Man Eating Sloth,
Section 25,
Robert Görl,
Lou Reed,
Mad Mike,
Yusef Lateef,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Lungfish,
Oblivians,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Connie Case,
Harry Pussy,
Kurtis Blow,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Bill Near,
ABC,
Jeff Lynne,
The Evens,
Can,
the Association,
Idris Muhammad,
Chris Corsano,
Saccharine Trust,
Roy Ayers,
Black Bananas,
Juan Atkins,
ABBA,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Gap Band,
The Beau Brummels,
Jerry's Kids,
The Standells,
Television,
Al Stewart,
The Leaves,
Zapp,
Kayak, Kayak, Kayak, Kayak.
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.