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 East Timor and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Big Star show in Memphis.
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 1968 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 American Breed to the grime kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 The Gladiators. All the underground hits.
All Banda Bassotti tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every New Age Steppers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 mellotron and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ludus record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Alphaville,
Moby Grape,
Ken Boothe,
Fugazi,
Basic Channel,
The Searchers,
Marc Almond,
The Red Krayola,
The Mojo Men,
B.T. Express,
Das Ding,
Spoonie Gee,
Vladislav Delay,
The Fall,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
The Last Poets,
Scientists,
Sound Behaviour,
The Slackers,
Junior Murvin,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Cameo,
Boz Scaggs,
Funkadelic,
Erasure,
Tommy Roe,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Stiv Bators,
The Buckinghams,
The Techniques,
Grauzone,
Joe Finger,
John Foxx,
Rhythm & Sound,
Drive Like Jehu,
Eve St. Jones,
Aswad,
Massinfluence,
L. Decosne,
Piero Umiliani,
Johnny Osbourne,
Fear,
Newcleus,
The Motions,
Young Marble Giants,
The J.B.'s,
The Slits,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Fugs,
Brothers Johnson,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Jesper Dahlback,
Radiopuhelimet,
Goldenarms,
Skriet,
Can,
Matthew Halsall,
Isaac Hayes,
Gong, Gong, Gong, Gong.
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.