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 Cape Verde and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1963 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 jazz 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 Ultra Naté. All the underground hits.
All Radiopuhelimet tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sun Ra Arkestra record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Average White Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Outsiders,
Erykah Badu,
The Mojo Men,
Andrew Hill,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
New York Dolls,
Tres Demented,
The Fall,
Swell Maps,
The Pop Group,
Unwound,
Hoover,
Suburban Knight,
Mr. Review,
Barclay James Harvest,
Scrapy,
Boredoms,
Pantytec,
Nico,
Nik Kershaw,
Adolescents,
The Smoke,
Funky Four + One,
Gregory Isaacs,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Mantronix,
Scratch Acid,
China Crisis,
Subhumans,
X-102,
Man Eating Sloth,
Tommy Roe,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
FM Einheit,
The Young Rascals,
David Bowie,
Davy DMX,
The Slits,
The Red Krayola,
Youth Brigade,
The Five Americans,
The Wake,
Jacob Miller,
The Victims,
Patti Smith,
Wings,
Model 500,
Livin' Joy,
The Blues Magoos,
Lalo Schifrin,
Dave Gahan,
The Cowsills,
the Human League,
Rites of Spring,
Sister Nancy,
These Immortal Souls,
Bad Manners,
Kerrie Biddell,
Oblivians,
Can,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily.
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.