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 Bolivia and from Johannesburg.
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 1967 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Woodstock.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 DeepChord presents Echospace to the grime kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Justin Hinds & The Dominoes. All the underground hits.
All Bad Manners tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lonnie Liston Smith record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jandek record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Accadde A,
Avey Tare,
The Residents,
The Tremeloes,
Morten Harket,
Infiniti,
PIL,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Harry Pussy,
Marmalade,
The Selecter,
The United States of America,
These Immortal Souls,
DJ Style,
Von Mondo,
Fatback Band,
Godley & Creme,
the Germs,
Barbara Tucker,
Jeff Mills,
Boogie Down Productions,
Unrelated Segments,
Cluster,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
June of 44,
Mandrill,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Bang On A Can,
Colin Newman,
Sight & Sound,
Visage,
Country Teasers,
Anakelly,
Loose Ends,
The Modern Lovers,
Babytalk,
L. Decosne,
Half Japanese,
Silicon Teens,
Ralphi Rosario,
the Fania All-Stars,
David McCallum,
New Age Steppers,
Rosa Yemen,
The Associates,
New York Dolls,
Oblivians,
Soul II Soul,
Grey Daturas,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Black Pus,
Byron Stingily,
China Crisis,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Nils Olav,
Scan 7,
Talk Talk,
Alphaville,
Pagans,
Gastr Del Sol,
Amon Düül,
Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow, Henry Cow.
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.