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 Russia and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in 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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Clear Light to the grunge 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 Angels of Light & Akron/Family. All the underground hits.
All The Offenders tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Charles Mingus record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a China Crisis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Alton Ellis,
Grauzone,
Boogie Down Productions,
Hardrive,
The Electric Prunes,
Danielle Patucci,
Brothers Johnson,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
The Durutti Column,
The Beau Brummels,
The Dirtbombs,
Echospace,
Porter Ricks,
Half Japanese,
Howard Jones,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Rotary Connection,
Derrick May,
The Gories,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Bush Tetras,
Rakim,
The Busters,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Last Poets,
The Cosmic Jokers,
David McCallum,
The Toasters,
Scan 7,
The Stooges,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Pantytec,
The Litter,
Von Mondo,
CMW,
Arab on Radar,
DJ Style,
Ossler,
Pantaleimon,
Boredoms,
Camberwell Now,
The Techniques,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Peter & Gordon,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Moleskins,
Cymande,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Marc Almond,
One Last Wish,
Slave,
Cheater Slicks,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Gabor Szabo,
Barry Ungar,
Eli Mardock,
Alice Coltrane,
Technova,
MDC,
Vainqueur,
Theoretical Girls, Theoretical Girls, Theoretical Girls, Theoretical Girls.
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.