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 Zambia and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Woodstock and Lagos.
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 marimba 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 Marmalade to the jazz kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Lightning Bolt. All the underground hits.
All Absolute Body Control tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pantaleimon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 marimba and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Clear Light record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Residents,
Gregory Isaacs,
Sparks,
The Grass Roots,
The Techniques,
Niagra,
R.M.O.,
U.S. Maple,
Crime,
Stereo Dub,
Lebanon Hanover,
Fatback Band,
Scion,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Rekid,
Neu!,
Mission of Burma,
Babytalk,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Man Eating Sloth,
Deepchord,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Toni Rubio,
The Litter,
Public Enemy,
Don Cherry,
Bill Near,
Ituana,
Susan Cadogan,
The Star Department,
LL Cool J,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
X-Ray Spex,
Skaos,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
The Wake,
John Holt,
Stiv Bators,
Joensuu 1685,
Donald Byrd,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Fugazi,
Grandmaster Flash,
Barry Ungar,
The Blues Magoos,
The Associates,
Roxy Music,
Simply Red,
Leonard Cohen,
Radiopuhelimet,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Soft Machine,
Marine Girls,
Nils Olav,
X-101,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Von Mondo,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Neil Young,
World's Most,
Warren Ellis, Warren Ellis, Warren Ellis, Warren Ellis.
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.