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 Papua New Guinea and from Paris.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1964 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Motions to the grime kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Scan 7. All the underground hits.
All The Wake tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Slick Rick 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James White and The Blacks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Vladislav Delay,
The Tremeloes,
Surgeon,
Eve St. Jones,
A Certain Ratio,
The United States of America,
T.S.O.L.,
Smog,
DJ Sneak,
Unwound,
Youth Brigade,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
The Music Machine,
June of 44,
Jeru the Damaja,
Gerry Rafferty,
Soul Sonic Force,
Stiv Bators,
Monolake,
Neil Young,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Monochrome Set,
Fluxion,
Ultra Naté,
Kool Moe Dee,
Man Parrish,
Jacob Miller,
Can,
Letta Mbulu,
Television Personalities,
the Bar-Kays,
Marmalade,
X-101,
Sexual Harrassment,
Tomorrow,
The Cowsills,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Shoche,
Fatback Band,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Nirvana,
U.S. Maple,
The Human League,
The Gap Band,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Misunderstood,
Robert Görl,
Spoonie Gee,
Patti Smith,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Toasters,
Gang Green,
Camberwell Now,
Bauhaus,
Tim Buckley,
Hashim,
Stereo Dub,
The Fire Engines,
Brothers Johnson,
Intrusion,
Mo-Dettes, Mo-Dettes, Mo-Dettes, Mo-Dettes.
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.