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 Georgia and from Houston.
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 1962 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 1983 at the first Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Parry Music to the rock 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 Lower 48. All the underground hits.
All Mad Mike tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Johnny Clarke record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Motions,
The Black Dice,
Mo-Dettes,
Unrelated Segments,
X-Ray Spex,
In Retrospect,
Panda Bear,
The Fuzztones,
Pantaleimon,
John Lydon,
Y Pants,
Big Daddy Kane,
Kas Product,
cv313,
Public Enemy,
Neu!,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Motorama,
Dead Boys,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
the Swans,
James Chance & The Contortions,
T. Rex,
The Gun Club,
Kayak,
Excepter,
The Velvet Underground,
Liliput,
kango's stein massive,
The Gories,
Index,
Derrick May,
Magazine,
Symarip,
Sonic Youth,
Judy Mowatt,
AZ,
Heaven 17,
The Kinks,
Simply Red,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
The Blues Magoos,
The Divine Comedy,
Erykah Badu,
Robert Görl,
The Birthday Party,
Cal Tjader,
Rufus Thomas,
Joey Negro,
Goldenarms,
Davy DMX,
Dorothy Ashby,
Juan Atkins,
Agent Orange,
The Five Americans,
Ludus,
Idris Muhammad,
Camberwell Now,
Letta Mbulu,
Sun Ra,
Amon Düül II,
Cybotron,
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.