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 San Marino and from Bologna.
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 1969 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Buzzcocks to the electroclash 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 Jawbox. All the underground hits.
All Sandy B tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Royal Trux record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a CMW record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Smog,
Barbara Tucker,
The Techniques,
Brand Nubian,
Lee Hazlewood,
The Sonics,
Ultravox,
Byron Stingily,
The Star Department,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Minutemen,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Andrew Hill,
Sällskapet,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
The Evens,
Pantaleimon,
Eric Copeland,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Drive Like Jehu,
Big Daddy Kane,
The Fall,
The Golliwogs,
Silicon Teens,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Audionom,
Icehouse,
Crime,
Second Layer,
D'Angelo,
Motorama,
Jimmy McGriff,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Cymande,
The Misunderstood,
Sight & Sound,
The American Breed,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Bronski Beat,
New Age Steppers,
Jeff Mills,
Pussy Galore,
The Monochrome Set,
Scan 7,
CMW,
Deadbeat,
The Music Machine,
ABC,
Whodini,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
the Human League,
Roger Hodgson,
Iggy Pop,
ABBA,
Marc Almond,
Bluetip,
Angry Samoans,
Electric Prunes,
8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy.
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.