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 Slovenia and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Throbbing Gristle show in London.
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 1965 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 The Index to the grime kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Jandek. All the underground hits.
All The Zeros tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mark Hollis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Red Krayola,
Neu!,
the Fania All-Stars,
La Düsseldorf,
The Human League,
Carl Craig,
Fat Boys,
Accadde A,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Prince Buster,
Cecil Taylor,
Electric Prunes,
KRS-One,
Thompson Twins,
Ponytail,
Interpol,
These Immortal Souls,
Fatback Band,
Pantaleimon,
Parry Music,
Subhumans,
Babytalk,
Sight & Sound,
Minnie Riperton,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Goldenarms,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Leonard Cohen,
The Birthday Party,
Shuggie Otis,
The Raincoats,
The Zeros,
Shoche,
Lalann,
Danielle Patucci,
Pagans,
Blake Baxter,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
The Techniques,
The Pop Group,
Eddi Front,
Scott Walker,
Smog,
Porter Ricks,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Leaves,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Misunderstood,
Skarface,
Little Man,
The Remains,
Ludus,
The Invisible,
Eli Mardock,
MC5,
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear.
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.