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 Zimbabwe and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1969 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Spokane and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the theremin 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 Sonny Sharrock to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Ajijia Myrayebe. All the underground hits.
All Howard Jones tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jimmy McGriff 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Matthew Halsall record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet 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?
Jacob Miller,
The Velvet Underground,
The Dirtbombs,
Magma,
The Pop Group,
Marmalade,
Mandrill,
Ten City,
The Young Rascals,
Theoretical Girls,
Lou Reed,
Brand Nubian,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Barrington Levy,
Avey Tare,
The Fortunes,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Rosa Yemen,
Ossler,
Bizarre Inc.,
Pierre Henry,
Patti Smith,
Stereo Dub,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Silicon Teens,
The Monks,
Nico,
Drexciya,
John Coltrane,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Zero Boys,
Lungfish,
Anakelly,
E-Dancer,
Inner City,
Iggy Pop,
The Kinks,
Crispy Ambulance,
Sandy B,
Idris Muhammad,
The Blackbyrds,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Fela Kuti,
Gang Starr,
Grey Daturas,
The Dave Clark Five,
Eric Copeland,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
The Raincoats,
Saccharine Trust,
Audionom,
Monolake,
Spandau Ballet,
The Dead C,
Harry Pussy,
Marvin Gaye,
Dennis Brown,
Fluxion,
James White and The Blacks,
The United States of America,
Donald Byrd,
Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance, Underground Resistance.
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.