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 Serbia and from Columbus.
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 1968 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 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 the Slits to the grime kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Larry & the Blue Notes. All the underground hits.
All Cluster tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Chris & Cosey 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a DNA record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Barrington Levy,
Mark Hollis,
Bobby Hutcherson,
The Motions,
Reuben Wilson,
Jacques Brel,
Basic Channel,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Patti Smith,
ABBA,
Soul Sonic Force,
Silicon Teens,
The Angels of Light,
Susan Cadogan,
The Evens,
Gang Green,
Sun Ra,
Reagan Youth,
Mantronix,
the Slits,
Bush Tetras,
Mo-Dettes,
New York Dolls,
Barclay James Harvest,
Sight & Sound,
Harpers Bizarre,
Ultimate Spinach,
Lalann,
Franke,
Japan,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Youth Brigade,
DNA,
The Index,
Tomorrow,
Iggy Pop,
These Immortal Souls,
Schoolly D,
Grandmaster Flash,
Saccharine Trust,
Josef K,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Supertramp,
Tropical Tobacco,
Moby Grape,
the Human League,
Ornette Coleman,
Slave,
Unrelated Segments,
Crispian St. Peters,
Lebanon Hanover,
The Mummies,
Easy Going,
Shoche,
Bluetip,
Arthur Verocai,
Siglo XX,
Technova,
Marcia Griffiths,
The Slits,
Rufus Thomas,
Freddie Wadling,
DJ Sneak,
Sun City Girls, Sun City Girls, Sun City Girls, Sun City Girls.
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.