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 Ivory Coast and from Sao Paulo.
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 1964 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Stockholm.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Severed Heads 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 The J.B.'s. All the underground hits.
All The Invisible tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Wire 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Franke,
Warren Ellis,
Boz Scaggs,
Man Eating Sloth,
Lucky Dragons,
The Dead C,
Second Layer,
Sound Behaviour,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Todd Terry,
Skarface,
Duran Duran,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Whodini,
The Trojans,
London Community Gospel Choir,
The Leaves,
Clear Light,
The Martian,
Fatback Band,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
Grandmaster Flash,
Neu!,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
The Durutti Column,
Byron Stingily,
Johnny Clarke,
Bronski Beat,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Fuzztones,
Eric B and Rakim,
Dorothy Ashby,
Loose Ends,
Marcia Griffiths,
Kevin Saunderson,
Fear,
Popol Vuh,
DJ Style,
Junior Murvin,
Dawn Penn,
Charles Mingus,
Sonic Youth,
Aaron Thompson,
The Mojo Men,
Joe Finger,
Electric Prunes,
The Smiths,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Gladiators,
Kas Product,
Minor Threat,
The Selecter,
Dave Gahan,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Wasted Youth,
OOIOO,
Audionom,
Drive Like Jehu,
Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow.
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.