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 Syria and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 1967 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Houston.
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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 Jawbox 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 Au Pairs. All the underground hits.
All Aloha Tigers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock 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 chamberlin and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ossler record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Scientists,
Deakin,
Ohio Players,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Bizarre Inc.,
Vainqueur,
Cecil Taylor,
The Durutti Column,
Depeche Mode,
Patti Smith,
Japan,
The Skatalites,
The J.B.'s,
Gang Green,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Erykah Badu,
Nils Olav,
KRS-One,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Drive Like Jehu,
Von Mondo,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Khruangbin,
Alphaville,
AZ,
Bronski Beat,
Second Layer,
Wolf Eyes,
Tres Demented,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Nico,
Dennis Brown,
Barclay James Harvest,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Funky Four + One,
the Soft Cell,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Mad Mike,
Crooked Eye,
Country Teasers,
Quadrant,
Shoche,
Archie Shepp,
Black Moon,
Negative Approach,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Mission of Burma,
Kayak,
Yusef Lateef,
Absolute Body Control,
Leonard Cohen,
The Cramps,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Blackbyrds,
Al Stewart,
Pagans,
Boogie Down Productions,
Unwound,
Minny Pops,
Ultimate Spinach,
Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells, Bill Wells.
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.