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 Cape Verde and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1980.
I was there at the first Cybotron show in Detroit.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bremen and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Aswad to the disco 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 The Searchers. All the underground hits.
All Pulsallama tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hasil Adkins record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Shadows of Knight record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
June of 44,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Whodini,
Dorothy Ashby,
Rapeman,
Motorama,
The Five Americans,
Tres Demented,
The United States of America,
Aswad,
Main Source,
Fugazi,
Franke,
Todd Rundgren,
The Neon Judgement,
Boogie Down Productions,
Sun Ra,
Lalann,
Dennis Brown,
Dave Gahan,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Ultra Naté,
Johnny Osbourne,
the Slits,
B.T. Express,
Mars,
Thompson Twins,
Alice Coltrane,
JFA,
Lindisfarne,
The Vogues,
Charles Mingus,
Quadrant,
Niagra,
Intrusion,
Section 25,
The Human League,
Erykah Badu,
John Holt,
The Happenings,
Jandek,
Matthew Bourne,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Patti Smith,
PIL,
The J.B.'s,
Rotary Connection,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Au Pairs,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Kinks,
Accadde A,
David McCallum,
Funkadelic,
Inner City,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Peter & Gordon, Peter & Gordon, Peter & Gordon, Peter & Gordon.
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.