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 Dominican Republic and from Manila.
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 1962 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Spokane and Sao Paulo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the guitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Matthew Halsall to the rock 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 A Certain Ratio. All the underground hits.
All Ralphi Rosario tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Soft Cell record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Oblivians record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Spandau Ballet,
Janne Schatter,
Joe Smooth,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
48th St. Collective,
New York Dolls,
Rhythm & Sound,
H. Thieme,
Barclay James Harvest,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Cheater Slicks,
Technova,
Das Ding,
Nik Kershaw,
Roxy Music,
La Düsseldorf,
Monolake,
The Red Krayola,
The Electric Prunes,
the Soft Cell,
Gil Scott Heron,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
the Fania All-Stars,
Mr. Review,
Big Daddy Kane,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Jawbox,
The Grass Roots,
Niagra,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Ossler,
Underground Resistance,
The Buckinghams,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
MC5,
Slick Rick,
The Barracudas,
8 Eyed Spy,
Quantec,
CMW,
Bill Near,
Nick Fraelich,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Khruangbin,
Sugar Minott,
Jacob Miller,
Sparks,
Peter & Gordon,
The Monks,
Boredoms,
Sister Nancy,
X-Ray Spex,
The Cramps,
Trumans Water,
PIL,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Crime,
Jeff Lynne,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Harmonia,
Gang Gang Dance,
D'Angelo, D'Angelo, D'Angelo, D'Angelo.
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.