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 Albania 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 1965 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Saints to the jazz kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Mandrill. All the underground hits.
All Newcleus tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bang on a Can All-Stars record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime 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 linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a F. McDonald record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Malaria!,
Livin' Joy,
DJ Style,
Stiv Bators,
Al Stewart,
The Star Department,
The Angels of Light,
Basic Channel,
The Golliwogs,
Carl Craig,
Lebanon Hanover,
Piero Umiliani,
the Slits,
The Fortunes,
The Beau Brummels,
The J.B.'s,
Howard Jones,
Mantronix,
the Bar-Kays,
Pierre Henry,
Rotary Connection,
Bobby Byrd,
Jesper Dahlback,
Cecil Taylor,
EPMD,
The Smiths,
Erykah Badu,
Cybotron,
Icehouse,
ABBA,
Rapeman,
John Lydon,
Gastr Del Sol,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Bob Dylan,
Ultimate Spinach,
The Index,
Blossom Toes,
Jeff Mills,
The Divine Comedy,
Sound Behaviour,
Judy Mowatt,
Rakim,
Nik Kershaw,
Suburban Knight,
Babytalk,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
The Human League,
Roger Hodgson,
Yaz,
Porter Ricks,
Graham Central Station,
DNA,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Byron Stingily,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Subhumans,
Bush Tetras,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Sonny Sharrock,
Morten Harket, Morten Harket, Morten Harket, Morten Harket.
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.