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 Tanzania and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1987.
I was there at the first Nirvana show in Seattle.
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 Lagos and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 clarinet 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 Young Marble Giants to the rap kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Wings. All the underground hits.
All Depeche Mode tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every ABBA 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 spring reverb and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Michelle Simonal record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
This Heat,
Sam Rivers,
Roy Ayers,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Quantec,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
New Order,
Fad Gadget,
Bronski Beat,
Gang of Four,
Lou Reed,
Sun Ra,
X-Ray Spex,
China Crisis,
Pantaleimon,
Black Pus,
Brass Construction,
Mary Jane Girls,
Suburban Knight,
Pharoah Sanders,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Blues Magoos,
Steve Hackett,
Kaleidoscope,
Sun City Girls,
Marmalade,
Amon Düül II,
UT,
Pole,
Country Teasers,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Robert Wyatt,
Motorama,
Radio Birdman,
Gabor Szabo,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Quando Quango,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Pantytec,
Ultra Naté,
One Last Wish,
The Dirtbombs,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Tropical Tobacco,
Morten Harket,
Marshall Jefferson,
Matthew Halsall,
The United States of America,
Average White Band,
Scratch Acid,
Charles Mingus,
FM Einheit,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Guru Guru,
Metal Thangz,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
The Monks,
Sixth Finger,
Monolake,
Negative Approach,
Ossler,
Livin' Joy, Livin' Joy, Livin' Joy, Livin' Joy.
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.