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 South Africa and from Delhi.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Sparks to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Tears for Fears. All the underground hits.
All Cheater Slicks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Radio Birdman record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Pretty Things record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
UT,
The Five Americans,
The Toasters,
Echospace,
Spoonie Gee,
Alison Limerick,
Gichy Dan,
Wire,
Ice-T,
Lee Hazlewood,
H. Thieme,
the Sonics,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Blues Magoos,
Thompson Twins,
the Soft Cell,
Metal Thangz,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
John Foxx,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Los Fastidios,
a-ha,
Byron Stingily,
Ludus,
Bluetip,
Von Mondo,
Bob Dylan,
Scan 7,
Public Image Ltd.,
the Slits,
Ralphi Rosario,
Chris & Cosey,
The Names,
Visage,
Main Source,
Fluxion,
The Electric Prunes,
Boogie Down Productions,
48th St. Collective,
The Slackers,
Moebius,
Pharoah Sanders,
Sexual Harrassment,
Radiopuhelimet,
Andrew Hill,
Delta 5,
PIL,
Pantytec,
Brass Construction,
Crispian St. Peters,
Fatback Band,
Sparks,
Monolake,
Mars,
Yaz,
Neil Young,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Camouflage,
Derrick Morgan,
Jawbox,
Man Parrish,
The Mighty Diamonds,
the Human League, the Human League, the Human League, the Human League.
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.