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 Niger and from Tehran.
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 1966 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 guitar 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 Lindisfarne to the techno kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Radiohead. All the underground hits.
All Jerry Gold Smith tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every 10cc 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 sitar and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Monks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Busters,
The Moody Blues,
The Doobie Brothers,
Duran Duran,
Crispian St. Peters,
Lower 48,
Deadbeat,
Talk Talk,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Standells,
Alison Limerick,
Underground Resistance,
The Monks,
Pagans,
Radio Birdman,
In Retrospect,
The Stooges,
Pulsallama,
Sällskapet,
the Association,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
La Düsseldorf,
Gichy Dan,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Public Image Ltd.,
E-Dancer,
Heaven 17,
The Misunderstood,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Warren Ellis,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Jeff Lynne,
The Gun Club,
Avey Tare,
Jimmy McGriff,
Agent Orange,
Lyres,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Anthony Braxton,
Scott Walker,
Guru Guru,
Monks,
The Leaves,
Quadrant,
Sixth Finger,
The Sound,
The Slits,
Eric B and Rakim,
Scion,
The Red Krayola,
Mandrill,
Babytalk,
The Divine Comedy,
Groovy Waters,
AZ,
The Litter,
Roxy Music,
Donny Hathaway,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
New York Dolls,
The Detroit Cobras,
Quantec,
Theoretical Girls,
Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller, Jacob Miller.
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.