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 Poland and from Johannesburg.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Calgary 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 sitar 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 The Jesus and Mary Chain to the rap 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 Fear. All the underground hits.
All Bronski Beat tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every the Human League record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash 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 an arpeggiator and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Sound Behaviour record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Avey Tare,
Ice-T,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Albert Ayler,
Wally Richardson,
The Blackbyrds,
Goldenarms,
Model 500,
Amon Düül,
FM Einheit,
The Pop Group,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Beau Brummels,
Make Up,
Godley & Creme,
Sun City Girls,
Sandy B,
Kurtis Blow,
Ronan,
The Raincoats,
Nico,
The Smiths,
Steve Hackett,
Sonny Sharrock,
These Immortal Souls,
Carl Craig,
The Motions,
Vainqueur,
The Music Machine,
The Busters,
Bush Tetras,
James White and The Blacks,
Interpol,
The Dirtbombs,
Ken Boothe,
Lyres,
Matthew Bourne,
Derrick May,
Hashim,
Camberwell Now,
Lindisfarne,
Los Fastidios,
Colin Newman,
Wire,
Pagans,
Con Funk Shun,
Joe Smooth,
Tres Demented,
David Bowie,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Marcia Griffiths,
ABBA,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Pere Ubu,
Aloha Tigers,
Kayak,
Kerrie Biddell,
John Holt, John Holt, John Holt, John Holt.
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.