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 Armenia and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 marimba sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Essential Logic to the rock kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Laurel Aitken. All the underground hits.
All The Fall 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 jazz 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 a 808 and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Leaves,
Dave Gahan,
Lyres,
Marshall Jefferson,
Slick Rick,
Monolake,
PIL,
Pet Shop Boys,
Ultravox,
Rotary Connection,
The Doobie Brothers,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Sex Pistols,
Stetsasonic,
The Velvet Underground,
Sun City Girls,
Blake Baxter,
The Motions,
Oblivians,
Byron Stingily,
Marmalade,
Nils Olav,
The Techniques,
Tropical Tobacco,
Section 25,
The Dirtbombs,
Moebius,
The Gladiators,
Funky Four + One,
Fluxion,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Blancmange,
The Birthday Party,
The Barracudas,
The Beau Brummels,
Popol Vuh,
Wings,
Sexual Harrassment,
Main Source,
Laurel Aitken,
Eurythmics,
Joy Division,
Sällskapet,
Babytalk,
The Durutti Column,
Grey Daturas,
Absolute Body Control,
E-Dancer,
Patti Smith,
The Moody Blues,
Make Up,
10cc,
Agent Orange,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Gang Green,
Nik Kershaw,
Hashim,
F. McDonald,
Mantronix,
Reuben Wilson,
Model 500,
Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode, Depeche Mode.
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.