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 Monaco and from Tehran.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Scientists to the techno kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Altered Images. All the underground hits.
All the Soft Cell tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Crime record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mantronix record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Cal Tjader,
ABBA,
DJ Sneak,
Deepchord,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
The Smiths,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Sunsets and Hearts,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Divine Comedy,
Sun Ra,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Duran Duran,
Mo-Dettes,
The Fuzztones,
Dennis Brown,
L. Decosne,
Whodini,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Joey Negro,
Sonny Sharrock,
Gang Green,
Gil Scott Heron,
Basic Channel,
The Music Machine,
The Happenings,
Terry Callier,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Loose Ends,
Qualms,
Simply Red,
Visage,
the Slits,
AZ,
The Flesh Eaters,
Rotary Connection,
The Electric Prunes,
Johnny Clarke,
John Cale,
the Germs,
Main Source,
Sarah Menescal,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Livin' Joy,
Pulsallama,
Deakin,
Crispian St. Peters,
Surgeon,
Nas,
The Pretty Things,
The Monochrome Set,
The Five Americans,
Pantytec,
Drexciya,
Mantronix,
Moss Icon,
Jandek,
Rufus Thomas,
The Velvet Underground,
Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad.
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.