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 Burundi and from Toronto.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1961 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Taipei 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Monochrome Set to the techno kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 the Human League. All the underground hits.
All Brick tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Vainqueur record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lebanon Hanover record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Dorothy Ashby,
ABBA,
Khruangbin,
Rekid,
Yazoo,
Johnny Osbourne,
Ten City,
Basic Channel,
The Modern Lovers,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Albert Ayler,
Mark Hollis,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Gories,
Pantaleimon,
Simply Red,
China Crisis,
Vladislav Delay,
Technova,
Soul Sonic Force,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
The Index,
Derrick May,
Television Personalities,
Soulsonic Force,
David Axelrod,
Bill Wells,
Bluetip,
MDC,
Ituana,
The Golliwogs,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Grandmaster Flash,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Yellowson,
a-ha,
Bobbi Humphrey,
The Young Rascals,
Sex Pistols,
Marvin Gaye,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Sonic Youth,
Sun Ra,
Rhythm & Sound,
Youth Brigade,
Scientists,
The Cosmic Jokers,
the Germs,
The Searchers,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Wolf Eyes,
Reuben Wilson,
The Happenings,
Sonny Sharrock,
Barrington Levy,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Pagans,
Public Enemy,
Iggy Pop,
Bob Dylan,
Scion, Scion, Scion, Scion.
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.