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 Andorra and from Copenhagen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1963 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Lille.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the snare 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 Bob Dylan to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Art Ensemble Of Chicago. All the underground hits.
All U.S. Maple tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Roy Ayers 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Oblivians record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Alton Ellis,
Excepter,
Gil Scott Heron,
Rakim,
The Slits,
Malaria!,
Vladislav Delay,
Barrington Levy,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Star Department,
Soul II Soul,
Khruangbin,
Fugazi,
Ornette Coleman,
The Leaves,
Kenny Larkin,
X-101,
Derrick May,
Black Moon,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Ohio Players,
Donny Hathaway,
Big Daddy Kane,
Reagan Youth,
Rod Modell,
One Last Wish,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Kaleidoscope,
Blake Baxter,
Morten Harket,
Bobby Womack,
Marmalade,
Television Personalities,
Circle Jerks,
Scan 7,
Subhumans,
Ash Ra Tempel,
The Knickerbockers,
Zero Boys,
Grey Daturas,
China Crisis,
Pole,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Radio Birdman,
Josef K,
Siglo XX,
DJ Sneak,
Silicon Teens,
Delta 5,
Aloha Tigers,
Deepchord,
Public Enemy,
The Barracudas,
Mission of Burma,
Lalann,
Fat Boys,
the Swans,
Suburban Knight,
Alice Coltrane,
48th St. Collective,
Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan, Dave Gahan.
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.