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 Zimbabwe and from Houston.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise 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 1969 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bremen and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 1975 at the first Throbbing Gristle practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Selecter to the funk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Colin Newman. All the underground hits.
All Ash Ra Tempel tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The United States of America 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a John Coltrane record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Dorothy Ashby,
Johnny Osbourne,
The Misunderstood,
Malaria!,
The Associates,
The Mighty Diamonds,
The American Breed,
Public Image Ltd.,
The Happenings,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Severed Heads,
Lou Reed,
Black Flag,
Bobby Sherman,
Glambeats Corp.,
Skarface,
The Red Krayola,
Pylon,
Slave,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Sonic Youth,
X-Ray Spex,
The Slits,
Aaron Thompson,
Lalann,
Bob Dylan,
Sixth Finger,
Shoche,
The Leaves,
The Seeds,
The Knickerbockers,
Scrapy,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
The Slackers,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Loose Ends,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Guru Guru,
8 Eyed Spy,
The Fugs,
Brothers Johnson,
Archie Shepp,
Can,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Moss Icon,
Marmalade,
Average White Band,
the Swans,
Fatback Band,
Soulsonic Force,
Technova,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Scott Walker,
The Fuzztones,
Neil Young,
Lower 48,
Terry Callier,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Porter Ricks,
Henry Cow,
The Names,
Todd Rundgren,
Ronan, Ronan, Ronan, Ronan.
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.