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 Afghanistan and from Beijing.
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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the snare 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 Richard Hell and the Voidoids to the grunge 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 Stereo Dub. All the underground hits.
All The Angels of Light tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Negative Approach record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 guitar and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Gories record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Popol Vuh,
Joe Finger,
Unwound,
Dead Boys,
Nation of Ulysses,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Eurythmics,
The Associates,
The J.B.'s,
Dual Sessions,
Smog,
X-Ray Spex,
DJ Sneak,
Ten City,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
David Axelrod,
F. McDonald,
Skriet,
Mo-Dettes,
Crispian St. Peters,
the Association,
Danielle Patucci,
Reagan Youth,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Main Source,
Lakeside,
The Human League,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Funky Four + One,
The Misunderstood,
The Pretty Things,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Porter Ricks,
Black Sheep,
Dorothy Ashby,
Con Funk Shun,
The Mojo Men,
Dark Day,
Lower 48,
Cymande,
The Blackbyrds,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Todd Terry,
The Buckinghams,
Carl Craig,
The Barracudas,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Technova,
Lucky Dragons,
Easy Going,
Radiohead,
Alice Coltrane,
Bad Manners,
Flash Fearless,
Audionom,
New Age Steppers,
Delta 5,
Accadde A,
Pantytec,
Sugar Minott, Sugar Minott, Sugar Minott, Sugar Minott.
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.