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 Grenada and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1967 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Halifax.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 snare 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 Inner City to the disco kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Half Japanese. All the underground hits.
All Liliput tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kas Product 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pere Ubu record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Mojo Men,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Royal Trux,
The Velvet Underground,
Babytalk,
Girls At Our Best!,
UT,
Index,
Gang Gang Dance,
Qualms,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Human League,
The Remains,
The Knickerbockers,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Avey Tare,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Skaos,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Eric B and Rakim,
New York Dolls,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Youth Brigade,
Ponytail,
Stereo Dub,
Shoche,
In Retrospect,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Tropical Tobacco,
Barclay James Harvest,
Essential Logic,
Rosa Yemen,
Ten City,
Simply Red,
Bill Near,
Amazonics,
Soulsonic Force,
Goldenarms,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Toni Rubio,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Guru Guru,
Fugazi,
The Fall,
Fort Wilson Riot,
The Misunderstood,
Cybotron,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Fuzztones,
Desert Stars,
Crispian St. Peters,
Kerri Chandler,
Mark Hollis,
Fifty Foot Hose,
David McCallum,
48th St. Collective,
The Kinks,
The Litter,
The Moody Blues,
Junior Murvin,
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.