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 Cuba and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Electric Light Orchestra to the disco kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 In Retrospect. All the underground hits.
All Big Daddy Kane tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every DJ Sneak 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mission of Burma record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Tremeloes,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
China Crisis,
U.S. Maple,
Amon Düül II,
Camberwell Now,
Cluster,
Simply Red,
Minnie Riperton,
The Associates,
The Buckinghams,
Colin Newman,
The Slits,
Jawbox,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
the Swans,
The Raincoats,
The Fortunes,
Agent Orange,
Los Fastidios,
T.S.O.L.,
K-Klass,
FM Einheit,
The Music Machine,
Can,
Masters at Work,
Young Marble Giants,
Wally Richardson,
Wolf Eyes,
Q and Not U,
Crooked Eye,
Hot Snakes,
Bootsy Collins,
Make Up,
Tubeway Army,
Henry Cow,
Echospace,
Unwound,
Grey Daturas,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The Cure,
Adolescents,
Bobby Byrd,
Duran Duran,
Mark Hollis,
Excepter,
The Walker Brothers,
The Blues Magoos,
Tom Boy,
Reuben Wilson,
Barry Ungar,
Scan 7,
La Düsseldorf,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Gladiators,
Von Mondo,
Cal Tjader,
Brothers Johnson,
L. Decosne,
Monolake,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Birthday Party,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Bill Near, Bill Near, Bill Near, Bill Near.
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.