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 Kosovo and from Calgary.
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 1967 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 The Mummies to the punk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Maurizio. All the underground hits.
All Judy Mowatt tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Terrestrial Tones record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gil Scott Heron record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro 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?
Agent Orange,
Half Japanese,
Bobby Byrd,
Marc Almond,
Bob Dylan,
The Pretty Things,
Dave Gahan,
Basic Channel,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Monolake,
The Trojans,
The Wake,
Avey Tare,
Glambeats Corp.,
Kaleidoscope,
The Birthday Party,
The Names,
Dawn Penn,
Lightning Bolt,
Joy Division,
The Five Americans,
Metal Thangz,
Technova,
The Fortunes,
Camberwell Now,
X-102,
Gerry Rafferty,
John Coltrane,
Nik Kershaw,
Al Stewart,
Fluxion,
The Victims,
Cecil Taylor,
Quantec,
DJ Sneak,
The Young Rascals,
Suicide,
Depeche Mode,
Con Funk Shun,
The Walker Brothers,
The Buckinghams,
Fad Gadget,
Frankie Knuckles,
Henry Cow,
Warren Ellis,
Scratch Acid,
Prince Buster,
the Soft Cell,
Tears for Fears,
Rapeman,
Ossler,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Mandrill,
Grandmaster Flash,
Au Pairs,
Skriet,
Minny Pops,
Cal Tjader,
the Human League,
Mark Hollis,
Derrick Morgan,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
MDC,
The Selecter, The Selecter, The Selecter, The Selecter.
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.