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 Macedonia and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in London.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Spokane and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 1980 at the first Cybotron practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Rufus Thomas to the funk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 B.T. Express. All the underground hits.
All Ponytail tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Idris Muhammad record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell 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?
Henry Cow,
Mantronix,
Black Bananas,
The Invisible,
Graham Central Station,
A Certain Ratio,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Knickerbockers,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Harmonia,
Main Source,
Sexual Harrassment,
The Vogues,
Nico,
The Shadows of Knight,
Hardrive,
Jerry's Kids,
The Pretty Things,
The Birthday Party,
Maurizio,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Robert Hood,
Neil Young,
Talk Talk,
Barry Ungar,
Panda Bear,
X-102,
Al Stewart,
Funkadelic,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Leonard Cohen,
The Fugs,
Stiv Bators,
Radiopuhelimet,
The Evens,
New Age Steppers,
the Normal,
Scrapy,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Jandek,
Wire,
Grandmaster Flash,
Slave,
Joe Finger,
Alphaville,
Arab on Radar,
R.M.O.,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Bush Tetras,
Eric Copeland,
Colin Newman,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Peter and Kerry,
Josef K,
Steve Hackett,
The Selecter,
Terry Callier,
Hot Snakes,
Little Man,
Rekid,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Supertramp,
Agitation Free,
Rod Modell, Rod Modell, Rod Modell, Rod Modell.
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.