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 Bhutan and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in London.
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 1967 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Sunsets and Hearts to the grime kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Pagans. All the underground hits.
All Grauzone tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Technova 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Aural Exciters record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gang Gang Dance,
Unwound,
Tom Boy,
Easy Going,
Harry Pussy,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Warren Ellis,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
The Gap Band,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Kerrie Biddell,
Spoonie Gee,
Basic Channel,
The Birthday Party,
kango's stein massive,
The Doobie Brothers,
Talk Talk,
Joensuu 1685,
Sugar Minott,
Ohio Players,
Altered Images,
The Music Machine,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Yaz,
Lungfish,
Michelle Simonal,
Bill Wells,
Chris & Cosey,
Isaac Hayes,
Livin' Joy,
Babytalk,
the Fania All-Stars,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Ultimate Spinach,
The Trojans,
Quando Quango,
X-101,
The Wake,
Essential Logic,
Unrelated Segments,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The United States of America,
The Mummies,
Cymande,
Traffic Nightmare,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Drive Like Jehu,
X-Ray Spex,
Slick Rick,
the Germs,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
John Foxx,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Y Pants,
Masters at Work,
OOIOO,
Minny Pops,
Technova,
Faraquet,
Sam Rivers,
Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken, Laurel Aitken.
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.