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 St Kitts & Nevis and from Philadelphia.
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 1963 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Cowsills to the jazz 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 Television. All the underground hits.
All Avey Tare tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Funky Four + One record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 synthesizer and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Aaron Thompson record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lee Hazlewood,
The Associates,
The Fortunes,
Black Moon,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Ponytail,
Ronan,
the Fania All-Stars,
Underground Resistance,
Althea and Donna,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Toasters,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Litter,
Alton Ellis,
Electric Prunes,
Alphaville,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Residents,
Severed Heads,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Swans,
The Birthday Party,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Sam Rivers,
Nils Olav,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Zero Boys,
Jerry's Kids,
Joey Negro,
Throbbing Gristle,
Popol Vuh,
Andrew Hill,
Groovy Waters,
kango's stein massive,
Deepchord,
Piero Umiliani,
Aaron Thompson,
Das Ding,
The Standells,
Japan,
Brick,
the Bar-Kays,
Hasil Adkins,
Adolescents,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Dawn Penn,
EPMD,
Jandek,
Kaleidoscope,
Grauzone,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Shuggie Otis,
Nirvana,
X-Ray Spex,
David Axelrod,
Amazonics,
Wally Richardson,
Mary Jane Girls,
Mo-Dettes,
Skaos,
Bush Tetras,
Chrome, Chrome, Chrome, Chrome.
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.