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 Oman and from Manchester.
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 1965 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Ultravox to the rock kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Ultra Naté. All the underground hits.
All Freddie Wadling tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every OOIOO record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco 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 an arpeggiator and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Kinks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bill Wells,
Michelle Simonal,
The Gap Band,
Main Source,
Bluetip,
Dorothy Ashby,
Fela Kuti,
Lalo Schifrin,
Excepter,
Jandek,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Hasil Adkins,
H. Thieme,
Ken Boothe,
Essential Logic,
Los Fastidios,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Gregory Isaacs,
Yazoo,
The Five Americans,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
John Lydon,
Agent Orange,
The Cramps,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Henry Cow,
Alton Ellis,
Robert Görl,
Robert Hood,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Harpers Bizarre,
Scrapy,
Danielle Patucci,
Robert Wyatt,
Radio Birdman,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Saccharine Trust,
Trumans Water,
The Fortunes,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Tomorrow,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Urselle,
Ultravox,
Adolescents,
Dave Gahan,
The Beau Brummels,
the Association,
The Names,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Todd Terry,
Peter & Gordon,
Lower 48,
Negative Approach,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Sparks,
Faust,
Lou Reed,
Minny Pops,
Lakeside,
Davy DMX,
Metal Thangz, Metal Thangz, Metal Thangz, Metal Thangz.
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.