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 Azerbaijan and from London.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1975 at the first Throbbing Gristle practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 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 Vaughan Mason & Crew to the dance 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 Scion. All the underground hits.
All Tommy Roe tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Archie Shepp 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Al Stewart record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Kings Of Tomorrow,
The Sonics,
The Motions,
Tim Buckley,
EPMD,
Eden Ahbez,
The Young Rascals,
Nas,
Scratch Acid,
Symarip,
Arab on Radar,
Little Man,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Babytalk,
Negative Approach,
The Grass Roots,
Nico,
Dennis Brown,
Heaven 17,
Can,
X-102,
The Invisible,
Swell Maps,
Jeff Lynne,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Knickerbockers,
Rotary Connection,
Alphaville,
Rapeman,
U.S. Maple,
the Human League,
Prince Buster,
MDC,
The Searchers,
Drexciya,
Mark Hollis,
Chris & Cosey,
Rakim,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
The Red Krayola,
John Coltrane,
Bill Near,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
The Birthday Party,
X-101,
Sarah Menescal,
R.M.O.,
Skaos,
Brass Construction,
Big Daddy Kane,
Sällskapet,
Pagans,
Sonic Youth,
Cal Tjader,
Darondo,
Grauzone,
Man Eating Sloth,
Hasil Adkins,
Lebanon Hanover,
Althea and Donna, Althea and Donna, Althea and Donna, Althea and Donna.
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.