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 Malta and from Edmonton.
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 1968 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Roy Ayers Ubiquity to the rock 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 The Dave Clark Five. All the underground hits.
All the Germs tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lalo Schifrin record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a X-101 record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Litter,
Fela Kuti,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Jandek,
L. Decosne,
Rosa Yemen,
Jacob Miller,
Tom Boy,
Bad Manners,
The Saints,
Prince Buster,
The Victims,
Lucky Dragons,
Terry Callier,
Thompson Twins,
Quando Quango,
Don Cherry,
Roxette,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Echospace,
Circle Jerks,
Parry Music,
Steve Hackett,
The Move,
Chrome,
Sonic Youth,
Johnny Osbourne,
Black Moon,
Amazonics,
The Index,
Monks,
The Skatalites,
Dawn Penn,
Kurtis Blow,
The Toasters,
Rufus Thomas,
The Residents,
Ponytail,
The Red Krayola,
Matthew Halsall,
Donny Hathaway,
Scrapy,
Marc Almond,
Letta Mbulu,
T.S.O.L.,
Pagans,
The Electric Prunes,
The Star Department,
the Soft Cell,
Q and Not U,
Pulsallama,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Gong,
The Real Kids,
Heaven 17,
Cheater Slicks,
Rhythm & Sound,
Bang On A Can,
Yusef Lateef,
Jeru the Damaja,
Masters at Work,
Cymande, Cymande, Cymande, Cymande.
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.