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 Marshall Islands and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in 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 1963 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Stockholm.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 snare 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 Dennis Brown 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 Steve Hackett. All the underground hits.
All John Lydon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Donny Hathaway record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ten City record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Byron Stingily,
Bill Wells,
The Misunderstood,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The United States of America,
the Association,
The Buckinghams,
Con Funk Shun,
Josef K,
FM Einheit,
Kayak,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Deadbeat,
The Gories,
The Slits,
Connie Case,
John Cale,
Jesper Dahlback,
The Wake,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Lebanon Hanover,
Brand Nubian,
Au Pairs,
Tommy Roe,
Audionom,
Jacques Brel,
Barclay James Harvest,
Roy Ayers,
Joe Smooth,
DJ Style,
Roxette,
Adolescents,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Quando Quango,
Sällskapet,
Jeff Mills,
Shoche,
Jacob Miller,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Gang Gang Dance,
Sandy B,
the Germs,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Zeros,
Bill Near,
Girls At Our Best!,
Godley & Creme,
Dawn Penn,
Albert Ayler,
Mandrill,
Stetsasonic,
The Mojo Men,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Reagan Youth,
Howard Jones,
Gang of Four,
Piero Umiliani,
Marmalade,
The Grass Roots, The Grass Roots, The Grass Roots, The Grass Roots.
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.