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 Maldives and from Columbus.
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 1960 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 1976 at the first Buzzcocks practice in a loft in Bolton.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Mandrill to the dance kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Silicon Teens. All the underground hits.
All Byron Stingily tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Harpers Bizarre record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Scrapy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Eurythmics,
Ludus,
Fela Kuti,
the Normal,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Isaac Hayes,
Jerry's Kids,
Alice Coltrane,
The Selecter,
Radio Birdman,
Grey Daturas,
The Real Kids,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Excepter,
Peter and Kerry,
Joe Smooth,
Magma,
Little Man,
The Blackbyrds,
Mo-Dettes,
Chris Corsano,
Girls At Our Best!,
Ornette Coleman,
The Smiths,
Public Image Ltd.,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Yazoo,
Dawn Penn,
Harmonia,
Josef K,
Pylon,
Lalo Schifrin,
Reagan Youth,
Altered Images,
Delta 5,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Oblivians,
the Germs,
Hasil Adkins,
Scan 7,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
The Beau Brummels,
10cc,
Make Up,
Dual Sessions,
Robert Wyatt,
Simply Red,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Letta Mbulu,
Janne Schatter,
Fad Gadget,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Rufus Thomas,
the Sonics,
Faust,
Mark Hollis,
Reuben Wilson,
Interpol,
Amon Düül,
The Slits,
Neil Young,
Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel.
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.