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 Bolivia and from Tokyo.
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 1964 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
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 The Techniques to the crunk 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 Youth Brigade. All the underground hits.
All Black Sheep tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Easy Going record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Archie Shepp,
Eric B and Rakim,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Toasters,
The Gladiators,
Spandau Ballet,
The Skatalites,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Godley & Creme,
The Tremeloes,
Cluster,
Chrome,
Amazonics,
Gong,
Symarip,
Brand Nubian,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Crime,
DNA,
Urselle,
Whodini,
Kevin Saunderson,
Laurel Aitken,
Swans,
Johnny Clarke,
Carl Craig,
Parry Music,
Bush Tetras,
Royal Trux,
David Axelrod,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
The Gap Band,
Outsiders,
The Black Dice,
AZ,
Scan 7,
Stereo Dub,
Magma,
The Litter,
Black Sheep,
The Cowsills,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Trojans,
Ten City,
Sonny Sharrock,
Mantronix,
Byron Stingily,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Unrelated Segments,
FM Einheit,
Todd Rundgren,
Pulsallama,
Malaria!,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Busters,
John Lydon,
Aloha Tigers,
Eden Ahbez,
The Motions, The Motions, The Motions, The Motions.
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.