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 Denmark and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1969 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Philadelphia.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 guitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Nils Olav to the electroclash 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 U.S. Maple. All the underground hits.
All Archie Shepp tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Urselle record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Names record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar 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?
Idris Muhammad,
Peter and Kerry,
The Selecter,
Junior Murvin,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
the Normal,
Procol Harum,
The Residents,
Man Parrish,
Public Enemy,
Kool Moe Dee,
The Raincoats,
The Cure,
Barclay James Harvest,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Ash Ra Tempel,
PIL,
Echospace,
Darondo,
Glenn Branca,
Bronski Beat,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Jeff Mills,
Dave Gahan,
The Pop Group,
Wolf Eyes,
Connie Case,
the Slits,
Bob Dylan,
The Doobie Brothers,
Young Marble Giants,
Delta 5,
Robert Görl,
Nas,
Girls At Our Best!,
Tropical Tobacco,
DNA,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Joey Negro,
Leonard Cohen,
Nils Olav,
The Seeds,
Alton Ellis,
The Move,
Lucky Dragons,
The Mummies,
Tommy Roe,
The Gap Band,
Pantaleimon,
Suburban Knight,
Rites of Spring,
Tears for Fears,
Josef K,
Gerry Rafferty,
Hardrive,
Robert Wyatt,
Quadrant,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Mission of Burma, Mission of Burma, Mission of Burma, Mission of Burma.
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.