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 New Zealand 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 1968 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Glasgow.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 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 Shuggie Otis to the electroclash 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 Warsaw. All the underground hits.
All Suicide tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Carl Craig record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Trojans 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?
Slave,
Organ,
Unwound,
Khruangbin,
Sight & Sound,
Subhumans,
Japan,
Con Funk Shun,
Dawn Penn,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Stooges,
Zero Boys,
Minutemen,
The Doobie Brothers,
ABC,
The Modern Lovers,
CMW,
The Velvet Underground,
Intrusion,
Tears for Fears,
Bronski Beat,
The Pop Group,
Jawbox,
The Barracudas,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Letta Mbulu,
Camberwell Now,
The Shadows of Knight,
Vainqueur,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Kayak,
Eden Ahbez,
Public Image Ltd.,
the Slits,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
The Martian,
Althea and Donna,
Sugar Minott,
Kenny Larkin,
The Birthday Party,
Ice-T,
Bob Dylan,
Pussy Galore,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Sonic Youth,
Country Joe & The Fish,
The Music Machine,
These Immortal Souls,
Spoonie Gee,
Symarip,
Bush Tetras,
Dark Day,
Minny Pops,
The Cure,
Clear Light,
David Bowie,
Hot Snakes,
The Sound,
Cymande,
In Retrospect,
Simply Red, Simply Red, Simply Red, Simply Red.
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.