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 Botswana and from Woodstock.
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 1961 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Woodstock and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lyon 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Invisible to the funk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Fela Kuti. All the underground hits.
All Adolescents tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Easy Going record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Black Sheep record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Ituana,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
In Retrospect,
Toni Rubio,
cv313,
Black Flag,
Jimmy McGriff,
Schoolly D,
The Offenders,
Television,
Tomorrow,
Prince Buster,
The Barracudas,
The Moleskins,
Massinfluence,
Arthur Verocai,
Lebanon Hanover,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Quando Quango,
Stetsasonic,
Eric Copeland,
Todd Rundgren,
Deepchord,
Delon & Dalcan,
Charles Mingus,
Zapp,
The Doobie Brothers,
Rapeman,
Harry Pussy,
Stereo Dub,
Unrelated Segments,
MDC,
Colin Newman,
48th St. Collective,
Symarip,
The Techniques,
UT,
The Mojo Men,
Reuben Wilson,
Groovy Waters,
The J.B.'s,
Don Cherry,
Nico,
The Human League,
China Crisis,
The Leaves,
Trumans Water,
F. McDonald,
Cluster,
Rod Modell,
Nirvana,
Whodini,
World's Most,
Camouflage,
Young Marble Giants,
Sugar Minott,
Cybotron,
Neil Young,
Crooked Eye,
Gastr Del Sol,
8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy, 8 Eyed Spy.
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.