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 Romania and from Mexico City.
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 1965 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Stockholm and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Altered Images to the techno 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 Cybotron. All the underground hits.
All Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every PIL 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sugar Minott record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Rapeman,
The Names,
Scott Walker,
La Düsseldorf,
Ronnie Foster,
Negative Approach,
The Fuzztones,
Minny Pops,
Amon Düül II,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Ludus,
AZ,
Black Sheep,
Talk Talk,
Darondo,
Byron Stingily,
Camouflage,
Flash Fearless,
Bill Wells,
Procol Harum,
Janne Schatter,
Bizarre Inc.,
The Black Dice,
Bobby Hutcherson,
KRS-One,
Youth Brigade,
Marcia Griffiths,
Archie Shepp,
Don Cherry,
The Cramps,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Das Ding,
Marvin Gaye,
Hasil Adkins,
Gabor Szabo,
Barclay James Harvest,
Infiniti,
Pantytec,
Television Personalities,
Fatback Band,
Rhythm & Sound,
Rakim,
Matthew Bourne,
the Sonics,
The United States of America,
Alton Ellis,
Motorama,
The Dead C,
ABBA,
Nik Kershaw,
Kevin Saunderson,
The Fire Engines,
Swans,
The Monochrome Set,
Spandau Ballet,
Agent Orange,
The Happenings,
David Axelrod,
Flamin' Groovies,
Agitation Free, Agitation Free, Agitation Free, Agitation Free.
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.