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 Pakistan and from Tehran.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tokyo and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Spokane 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 theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Basic Channel to the electroclash kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Lafayette Afro Rock Band. All the underground hits.
All Nirvana tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Residents record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Marc Almond record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Soul II Soul,
Skarface,
the Human League,
Average White Band,
Robert Wyatt,
Oblivians,
the Soft Cell,
MC5,
Symarip,
Circle Jerks,
Bobby Sherman,
Scrapy,
Bootsy Collins,
New York Dolls,
Nas,
Ronnie Foster,
Arab on Radar,
Public Enemy,
Slave,
Siglo XX,
Hashim,
Dual Sessions,
Dark Day,
Deakin,
John Cale,
Jacob Miller,
Marc Almond,
Kayak,
Kool Moe Dee,
AZ,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Laurel Aitken,
Fear,
Radiohead,
Brick,
Arcadia,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Neil Young,
Bluetip,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Ultimate Spinach,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Blossom Toes,
Minnie Riperton,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Lalann,
Soft Cell,
Barry Ungar,
The Misunderstood,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Zero Boys,
Mission of Burma,
Jawbox,
K-Klass,
Niagra,
Con Funk Shun,
Duran Duran,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Kerri Chandler,
Pet Shop Boys, Pet Shop Boys, Pet Shop Boys, Pet Shop Boys.
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.