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 Nepal 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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 synthesizer 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 Youth Brigade to the funk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Moss Icon. All the underground hits.
All Clear Light tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Man Parrish record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 spring reverb and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Wally Richardson record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Sarah Menescal,
Erasure,
The Leaves,
Traffic Nightmare,
Lyres,
Avey Tare,
Drive Like Jehu,
Accadde A,
Echospace,
Negative Approach,
Rufus Thomas,
The Grass Roots,
The Offenders,
Skarface,
Robert Hood,
Laurel Aitken,
The Moleskins,
The Five Americans,
Can,
The J.B.'s,
Graham Central Station,
Barbara Tucker,
Kayak,
The Residents,
Sun City Girls,
D'Angelo,
Cecil Taylor,
Soul Sonic Force,
Marc Almond,
The Associates,
The Skatalites,
Trumans Water,
Tres Demented,
Fugazi,
Outsiders,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
The Durutti Column,
Ossler,
Ronan,
Faust,
Idris Muhammad,
The Last Poets,
The Remains,
Tomorrow,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Chris & Cosey,
Kerrie Biddell,
Silicon Teens,
Porter Ricks,
Wally Richardson,
The Cramps,
Vainqueur,
Stiv Bators,
L. Decosne,
Rekid,
Kas Product,
Scrapy,
Juan Atkins,
Rites of Spring,
Easy Going,
Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis.
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.