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 Malawi and from Seoul.
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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Glasgow and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Salvador 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Louis and Bebe Barron to the crunk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Agent Orange. All the underground hits.
All China Crisis tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Evens record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Cecil Taylor record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
June of 44,
Reuben Wilson,
Morten Harket,
Pylon,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Glambeats Corp.,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Dave Clark Five,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Circle Jerks,
Byron Stingily,
The Smoke,
Frankie Knuckles,
Motorama,
Albert Ayler,
Robert Wyatt,
Trumans Water,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Flamin' Groovies,
Flash Fearless,
Darondo,
Laurel Aitken,
Kaleidoscope,
the Sonics,
Hashim,
Glenn Branca,
Babytalk,
The Real Kids,
Boogie Down Productions,
Minnie Riperton,
Sugar Minott,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Anakelly,
Adolescents,
Eli Mardock,
Al Stewart,
Man Parrish,
The Offenders,
Joy Division,
Harmonia,
Joey Negro,
Drive Like Jehu,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Beasts of Bourbon,
Delta 5,
Andrew Hill,
Hasil Adkins,
The Associates,
Blancmange,
The Raincoats,
Easy Going,
John Holt,
Scratch Acid,
Clear Light,
Groovy Waters,
Grandmaster Flash,
Electric Prunes,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Deadbeat,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines.
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.