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 Angola and from Shanghai.
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 1961 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the güiro 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 Heaven 17 to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 ABBA. All the underground hits.
All The Peanut Butter Conspiracy tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Isaac Hayes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Youth Brigade record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Graham Central Station,
The Associates,
Quadrant,
Cheater Slicks,
The Seeds,
the Bar-Kays,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
DJ Style,
Robert Görl,
Ponytail,
Ultra Naté,
Alton Ellis,
The Tremeloes,
Angry Samoans,
Pussy Galore,
Joensuu 1685,
Vladislav Delay,
Zapp,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Anakelly,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Index,
8 Eyed Spy,
Supertramp,
The Moody Blues,
EPMD,
The Golliwogs,
Jeff Mills,
Inner City,
The Smoke,
Carl Craig,
Rites of Spring,
Dorothy Ashby,
Lou Reed,
Kenny Larkin,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Connie Case,
Spandau Ballet,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Minnie Riperton,
Unwound,
Amon Düül,
Jacob Miller,
Buzzcocks,
John Foxx,
X-Ray Spex,
Cal Tjader,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Eve St. Jones,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Fela Kuti,
Tubeway Army,
Half Japanese,
The Vogues,
Bronski Beat,
R.M.O.,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
FM Einheit,
The Trojans,
The Durutti Column,
Hashim,
Second Layer,
Make Up,
Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare, Traffic Nightmare.
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.