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 El Salvador and from Manchester.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Stockholm and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 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 Guru Guru to the funk 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 8 Eyed Spy. All the underground hits.
All The Happenings tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Patti Smith record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Prince Buster record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Davy DMX,
Rod Modell,
In Retrospect,
Mark Hollis,
Loose Ends,
Intrusion,
Liliput,
Television,
Robert Görl,
Fort Wilson Riot,
the Soft Cell,
the Human League,
Deadbeat,
Bill Near,
Jacques Brel,
David Bowie,
Gang Gang Dance,
Unwound,
Drive Like Jehu,
Porter Ricks,
Warsaw,
Sex Pistols,
Simply Red,
Surgeon,
Skarface,
Glambeats Corp.,
Neil Young,
The Smoke,
Robert Hood,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Faraquet,
Bobby Hutcherson,
The Electric Prunes,
The J.B.'s,
Roger Hodgson,
Kaleidoscope,
Massinfluence,
the Bar-Kays,
the Swans,
Al Stewart,
Bobby Byrd,
Ultravox,
Camouflage,
Brick,
Cecil Taylor,
Joe Smooth,
The Knickerbockers,
Babytalk,
Cymande,
Organ,
Eric Copeland,
Skaos,
The Smiths,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Joe Finger,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Depeche Mode,
The Sonics,
Cheater Slicks,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Sixth Finger,
Derrick Morgan,
Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd, Donald Byrd.
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.