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 Vietnam and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1962 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the 808 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 Deakin to the funk kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Marvin Gaye. All the underground hits.
All The Beau Brummels tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Fela Kuti record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Lee Hazlewood record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Liliput,
Cymande,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The Velvet Underground,
The Skatalites,
Thee Headcoats,
The Black Dice,
Simply Red,
Arab on Radar,
Terry Callier,
The Saints,
Ultravox,
Barbara Tucker,
Soulsonic Force,
Ronan,
the Sonics,
Can,
Inner City,
Soul Sonic Force,
The Blues Magoos,
the Swans,
The Litter,
Sex Pistols,
Motorama,
The Leaves,
Moby Grape,
Sarah Menescal,
Oblivians,
The Cure,
Magma,
Tears for Fears,
ABBA,
La Düsseldorf,
Deadbeat,
Country Teasers,
Yazoo,
New York Dolls,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Ornette Coleman,
Sexual Harrassment,
Japan,
Joe Smooth,
Basic Channel,
Dennis Brown,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
The Walker Brothers,
Scion,
James White and The Blacks,
The Birthday Party,
China Crisis,
Make Up,
Junior Murvin,
Ludus,
Freddie Wadling,
Barry Ungar,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
MC5,
Lindisfarne,
Donald Byrd,
The United States of America,
One Last Wish,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Scott Walker,
Tim Buckley,
Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra.
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.