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 Bahrain and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Human League show in Sheffield.
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 1968 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Bologna.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 New Christs to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 China Crisis. All the underground hits.
All Todd Rundgren tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Associates 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ossler record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Davy DMX,
Joey Negro,
MC5,
Donny Hathaway,
the Bar-Kays,
the Fania All-Stars,
Liliput,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Grauzone,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Absolute Body Control,
Black Bananas,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Bill Wells,
The Fortunes,
Patti Smith,
The Birthday Party,
The Residents,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Livin' Joy,
Country Teasers,
Skaos,
Black Pus,
The Vogues,
The Last Poets,
Amazonics,
Bush Tetras,
Desert Stars,
Maleditus Sound,
Tim Buckley,
Fatback Band,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Theoretical Girls,
The Names,
MDC,
Eve St. Jones,
Au Pairs,
Flamin' Groovies,
The Kinks,
Bootsy Collins,
Amon Düül II,
Lebanon Hanover,
Electric Prunes,
The Motions,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Anakelly,
Pantaleimon,
Sister Nancy,
Arthur Verocai,
Malaria!,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Altered Images,
Black Moon,
Faust,
Suburban Knight,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Fugs,
Faraquet,
Marcia Griffiths,
John Holt,
Magma, Magma, Magma, Magma.
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.