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 Tonga and from Bologna.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Philadelphia.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Eric B and Rakim to the funk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Kurtis Blow. All the underground hits.
All The Raincoats tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cybotron 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Music Machine record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gregory Isaacs,
The Sound,
The Move,
Tomorrow,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Ronan,
Cal Tjader,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Mummies,
Angry Samoans,
kango's stein massive,
The New Christs,
Terrestrial Tones,
Parry Music,
Soulsonic Force,
Clear Light,
Bronski Beat,
The Raincoats,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Robert Wyatt,
Swell Maps,
Make Up,
Audionom,
Talk Talk,
The Star Department,
Brothers Johnson,
Pole,
Cheater Slicks,
The Techniques,
Suburban Knight,
Crime,
Drexciya,
Ice-T,
The Golliwogs,
Man Parrish,
Barry Ungar,
Malaria!,
Average White Band,
Gichy Dan,
Eddi Front,
Tom Boy,
Unrelated Segments,
Tres Demented,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Jacques Brel,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
a-ha,
Delta 5,
The Blackbyrds,
MC5,
Mars,
Ultravox,
Charles Mingus,
DNA,
Deakin,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Mojo Men,
R.M.O.,
June of 44,
Public Enemy,
Pere Ubu,
Au Pairs,
Bill Wells,
Agent Orange,
Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin.
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.