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 Tunisia and from Copenhagen.
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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
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 Boz Scaggs to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Sister Nancy. All the underground hits.
All Flamin' Groovies tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Magazine 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
LL Cool J,
Basic Channel,
The Count Five,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Residents,
Con Funk Shun,
Warren Ellis,
Rapeman,
Ronnie Foster,
Terry Callier,
Scan 7,
The Walker Brothers,
Bobby Byrd,
China Crisis,
Sonny Sharrock,
These Immortal Souls,
Fat Boys,
Buzzcocks,
JFA,
AZ,
Radio Birdman,
Radiopuhelimet,
Fluxion,
John Lydon,
Alphaville,
Morten Harket,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Scrapy,
Supertramp,
Y Pants,
The Index,
Motorama,
Drive Like Jehu,
Boredoms,
Marine Girls,
Rhythm & Sound,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Ossler,
Thompson Twins,
Procol Harum,
Josef K,
Grauzone,
Mandrill,
Lalo Schifrin,
David Axelrod,
Pulsallama,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Cramps,
Reagan Youth,
Absolute Body Control,
Yaz,
Danielle Patucci,
Peter and Kerry,
Eden Ahbez,
Matthew Bourne,
Dorothy Ashby,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Joy Division,
New York Dolls,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Q and Not U, Q and Not U, Q and Not U, Q and Not U.
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.