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 Chile and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1963 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Sunsets and Hearts to the grime 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 The Chocolate Watch Band. All the underground hits.
All Lightning Bolt tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Joe Finger 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mandrill record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
AZ,
Lou Christie,
James Chance & The Contortions,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
The Buckinghams,
Nik Kershaw,
Metal Thangz,
Toni Rubio,
Essential Logic,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Laurel Aitken,
E-Dancer,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Skriet,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Soft Cell,
Severed Heads,
Bronski Beat,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Outsiders,
These Immortal Souls,
Absolute Body Control,
Barrington Levy,
Rod Modell,
Steve Hackett,
Robert Görl,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
F. McDonald,
Roxy Music,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Chris & Cosey,
Susan Cadogan,
Hot Snakes,
The Litter,
Ossler,
The Blues Magoos,
Brick,
Colin Newman,
The Mojo Men,
Simply Red,
Monks,
Organ,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
The Angels of Light,
FM Einheit,
Kevin Saunderson,
Ponytail,
Henry Cow,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Victims,
Peter and Kerry,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Minny Pops,
Wolf Eyes,
The J.B.'s,
Terry Callier,
Tim Buckley,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Tears for Fears,
ABC,
The Wake, The Wake, The Wake, The Wake.
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.